WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner arrives in Israel on Wednesday in the latest U.S. effort to revive long-stalled Middle East peace talks, but at a time when progress may be more elusive than ever.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump’s closest ally in the region, faces at least two criminal investigations by Israeli law enforcement, which are examining possible corruption charges, and that could limit his room for negotiations.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also faces severe political challenges likely to make compromises difficult.
And while Trump remains popular in Israel, his praise last week for “very fine people” among the neo-Nazis who clashed with protesters in Charlottesville, Va., outraged many Jews in Israel.
Trump has spoken of forging the “ultimate deal” to end a conflict that has persisted for more than half a century. In a statement, the White House said “achieving an enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement will be difficult but (Trump) remains optimistic that peace is possible.”
Trump has assigned the job to Kushner, special envoy Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. All have ties to the controversial settler movement that builds Jewish towns in West Bank territory claimed by the Palestinians.
Kushner, Greenblatt and Dina Powell, an Egyptian-born deputy national security adviser for strategy, have spent the last two days in the region meeting leaders from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, according to the White House.
They will meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders separately Thursday. A Middle East expert with close ties to the White House described the visit as a “temperature taking,” and said the parties don’t expect to make an announcement out of the visit.
It is Kushner’s third trip to the region. He accompanied Trump to Jerusalem during the president’s first foreign trip in May, and then returned briefly in June.
According to the White House, the discussions will “focus on the path to substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks,” combating extremism, strengthening relations with U.S. partners, easing humanitarian concerns in the Gaza Strip, and reviewing economic steps that help create conditions for a peace deal.
The State Department, which would normally lead the search for a diplomatic solution, has taken a back seat to the Kushner missions.
“We provide backup assistance to them and attend meetings with them,” said Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman. “And then upon their return we do a debrief and have conversations about what they learned and where things stand.”
Analysts say the prospects for progress are dim given intransigence by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and Trump’s multiple problems at home.
