White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner has said that the Palestinians deserve “self-determination,” but stopped short of backing Palestinian statehood, expressing uncertainty over their ability to govern themselves.
Kushner, who is President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law, made the comments in a television interview with the Axios on HBO programs, broadcast on Sunday.
Jared Kushner says Palestinians can't govern themselves until they have a "fair judicial system…freedom of press, freedom of expression, [and] tolerance for all religions." So why do the Saudis get to govern themselves? Or the Egyptians under Sisi? https://t.co/0mJEnYpKbb pic.twitter.com/fhFgGICNZT
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) June 2, 2019
Asked whether he believed the Palestinians were capable of governing themselves without Israeli interference, Kushner said:
“That’s one that we’ll have to see. The hope is that they, over time, will become capable of governing”.
Jared Kushner justifying cuts in aid to Palestinians. It’s an act of collective punishment in order to force them into submission. It’s patronizing, cruel, & insensitive to the human suffering created. But when you don’t see Palestinians as equal human beings, that’s what you do https://t.co/b0FOvzZFXQ
— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) June 3, 2019
The Palestinians, he said, “need to have a fair judicial system … freedom of the press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions” before the Palestinian areas can become “investable”.
One of the architects of the United States‘s yet-to-be-released Middle East peace plan, Kushner said it would be a “high bar” when asked if the Palestinians could expect freedom from Israeli military and government interference.
(Al Jazeera, PC, Social Media)
