JERUSALEM, June 24 (Reuters) - Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser, said that he is "ready to work" with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, spoke in an interview with the Palestinian newspaper Al Quds, the Arabic name for Jerusalem.
In the interview, which was headlined, "I am ready to work with President Abbas, if he wishes" and published in Arabic, Kushner gave a direct message to the Palestinian people: "You deserve to have a bright future, now is the time for both the Israelis and Palestinians to strengthen their leaderships and re-focus them to encourage them to open up towards a solution, and not fear trying," the newspaper reported.
Washington has said it has a peace plan, but Abbas has refused to meet with Trump's team following his decision in December to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the U.S. Embassy there. The Palestinians want their own future state with a capital in East Jerusalem.
Kushner, who has taken the lead on Trump's plan, said he did not "wish to talk about the details of the deal that we're working on." But he said it would be ready "soon."
"If President Abbas is ready to go back to the negotiations table, then we are ready to participate in the discussion, but if it's not the case, then we are going to make the plan public."
He added: "I believe that in order to reach an agreement, both parts are going to gain more than they're giving, and both sides will feel confident that the life of their people will be better decades from today because of the concessions that they're offering." READ MORE
