US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner suggested recently in an interview that the Palestinians are not ready to govern themselves. Kushner made the statement ahead of releasing his peace plan for the region. Kushner has been drafting the Middle East peace plan for two years. Kushner told Axios on HBO the television programme that the Palestinians “should have self-determination”. He does not say whether that would mean an independent state or some lesser form of autonomy.
He has previously hinted that the plan will not endorse creating a Palestinian state. Kushner also said that “I think that it's a high bar”. When asked if the Palestinians could expect freedom from any Israeli governmental or military interference, he said, “I do think they should have self-determination. I’m going to leave the details until we come out with the actual plan.”
“If you don't have a proper government structure and proper security when people are living in fear of terror, that hurts Palestinians,” he said. “I'm not here to be trusted,” Kushner told Axios, adding he differentiates between the Palestinians and their leaders. The peace plan was previously delayed over Israel's April 9 general elections. Now it could be further delayed due to Israel going into elections again.
