Pictured Above: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and President Donald Trump (left) with Jared Kushner (center) at the start of their May 22 meeting in Jerusalem. Credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO.

(JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday Israel will welcome President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and international negotiations representative Jason Greenblatt later this month for continued discussions in renewed U.S.-led peace efforts.

“President Trump will soon send his representatives, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, for talks in the region including, of course, in Jerusalem, in an effort to advance the peace process,” Netanyahu said at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting. “Of course, we will welcome them as always.”

Netanyahu’s remarks follow a White House official’s statement Friday that a team of senior Trump administration officials led by Kushner will visit Israel, the disputed territories and several Arab states in August. 

“President Trump has previously noted that achieving an enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement will be difficult but he remains optimistic that peace is possible,” the official said. 

Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell will accompany Kushner and Greenblatt during their visit to the region. The White House delegation’s visit follows the recent Temple Mount crisis, which saw Muslim riots and Palestinian terror attacks in Jerusalem and the disputed territories over security measures that were temporarily implemented by Israel due to an Arab terror attack that killed two Israeli policemen near the holy site.

In June, Greenblatt and Kushner traveled to Jerusalem and Ramallah to meet separately with Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas. The Ramallah meeting reportedly became tense over the issue of the PA’s payments to terrorists and their families.

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