Kushner: We’re very confident Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be resolved

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, on Friday expressed optimism regarding the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict.

“We have more countries that are going to be making peace with Israel. We’re very confident that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be resolved. I do think that will allow us to focus on reducing extremism and terrorism and also on reducing anti-Semitism around the world,” he told reporters at the Oval Office after Trump announced that Sudan and Israel had agreed to normalize ties.

“If you look at where Sudan was in 2016 versus where they are now…you have a President who is not lecturing other countries, but for countries who want to improve their lot and make progress, there’s no better partner than America and that’s what you’re seeing with Sudan and with the Middle East,” added Kushner.

Trump announced the deal earlier on Friday during a call with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Sovereign Council president General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and civilian leader and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

“The state of Israel and the Republic of Sudan have agreed to make peace. It’s peace in the Middle East without bloodshed,” he stated.

Trump’s announcement came shortly after he officially removed Sudan from the list of nations that sponsor and finance terrorism.

The move had been seen by many as a step towards normalization between Sudan and Israel.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned the agreement to normalize ties between Sudan and Israel.

“No one has the right to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause,” his office said in a statement, adding that the agreement is contrary to the Arab Peace Initiative.

The Hamas terrorist organization also blasted the normalization agreement, calling it a “political sin” that harms both Palestinians and Sudanese.

The accord “harms our Palestinian people and their just cause, and even harms the Sudanese national interests,” Hamas said in a statement quoted by AFP. “It benefits only (Prime Minister Binyamin) Netanyahu”.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)