Jared Kushner Blasts Palestinian Leaders As ‘Hysterical And Stupid’
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner spoke to Israeli and Arab reporters via conference call Wednesday and slammed Palestinian leaders for not participating in the peace and economic development conference he organized in Bahrain. The Washington Examiner reports that Kushner called them “hysterical and stupid” and said their refusal to participate was “a strategic mistake.”
“The door is always open for the Palestinian leadership…. If they stop saying crazy things and engage, they will see there is an opportunity here. We respect President Abbas and we believe he wants to make peace, and we want to give him the opportunity to try and do it.”
Kushner and the Trump administration plan to create a $50 billion fund to create peace and prosperity throughout the Middle East. On Saturday, they revealed plans for 179 business and infrastructure projects — including a $5 billion highway and rail transportation corridor between the West Bank and Gaza — which were presented in Bahrain.
As for the more important political portion of Kushner’s peace plan, it has yet to be revealed.
Kushner’s Middle East peace plan has not been well-received by everyone. On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight episode, host John Oliver blasted the plan as impractical, calling it an “economic wish list” at best and a “rich boy wet dream” at worst.
Jared Kushner calls Palestinian leadership "stupid," suggests refugees should stay where they are https://t.co/j9mklT5iVs
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 5, 2019
Per The Inquisitr, Oliver highlighted the vagueness of Kushner’s plan for peace and what he suggests is a naive focus on investing in Palestine once peace is achieved.
“After years of thinking about it, Jared’s arrived at the conclusion that the Middle East would be better off if people stopped ‘doing terrorism.'”
Aside from Oliver and the officials from Palestinian territories that boycotted the Bahrain meeting, Israel representatives are also keeping their distance from the negotiations.
Some critics suggest that the Trump administration is partly responsible for escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine. Per The Inquisitr, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently revealed his illegal Golan Heights settlement, which is named after Trump as a thank you for recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Levant region.
The Syrian government called Trump’s recognition “irresponsible” and claimed that it could continue to fuel the region’s instability and threaten international peace. Prior to Trump’s declaration, no country has recognized Israel’s over the region. Critics call the move a political stunt and highlight the fact that it has no legal bearing, and some suggest that it could continue to provide fuel for authoritarian governments that continue to rise around the world.
