Kushner says Palestine leaders losing credibility

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Kushner says Palestine leaders losing credibility Tia Goldenberg ASSOCIATED PRESS JERUSALEM - Top White House ad- viser Jared Kushner said Monday that the Palestinian leadership's credibility fell to an "all-time low" and that the Trump administration wouldn't "chase" the Palestinians over a peace deal if they continue to reject American overtures.

Kushner delivered his assessment while discussing last week's U.S.-bro- kered agreement to create official diplo- matic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Kushner said there was frustration in the region over what he said was the Palestinians' obstruction of their peo- ple's advancement. "We're not going to chase the Pales- tinian leadership," Kushner said.

"Their credibility is just really falling to an all- time low, and even people who want to help the Palestinians, those people are just saying that you can't help people who don't want to help themselves." The internationally recognized Pal- estinian Authority severed ties with the White House after President Donald Trump recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017.

The Palestinians rejected the Mideast plan the Trump administration re- leased early this year, which favors Is- rael, as being unfairly biased. The Pal- estinians condemned the UAE's agree- ment with Israel last week as a betrayal of their cause.

Kushner said the world is "starting to block out the noise" coming from Pales- tinian officials, calling their responses "just so predictable and illogical." Last week's deal makes the United Arab Emirates just the third Arab coun try to normalize relations with Israel.

The UAE's move shattered a longstand- ing Arab consensus that official rap- prochement with Israel should come only after concessions were made in peacemaking with the Palestinians. That wall of Arab support had long served as one of the Palestinians' few points of leverage against Israel.

Kushner said the Trump administra- tion was rebuffed by the Palestinians "We're not going to chase the Palestinian leadership" to reach a peace deal, top White House adviser Jared Kushner says. ANDREW HARNIK/AP despite numerous attempts to amelio- rate their conditions.

Kushner cited a regional economic conference held last year meant to raise funds to better the Palestinian economy, as well as Trump's Mideast plan, which he said gave the Palestinians "most of what they've ever wanted." Despite his claims, the plan falls far short of Palestinian demands for an in- dependent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, territories captured by Israel in 1967.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Ab- bas, blamed the Trump administration, saying its "negativity" in dealing with the Palestinians "is what brought mat- ters to this impasse." Abbas has said previously that the Palestinians are ready to negotiate based on the international consensus calling for a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines.

As part of the UAE deal, Israel agreed to put on hold its plans to annex parts of the West Bank. But the sides' interpre- tation of what that meant appeared to differ, with Israeli Prime Minister Ben- jamin Netanyahu saying the move was on "temporary hold" following a re- quest by the Trump administration, and the UAE indicating it was off the ta- ble.

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"Kushner says Palestine leaders losing credibility," Des Moines Register, 18 August 2020. Covering Palestine archive, CP-2020-006. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-2020-006