Jared Kushner Just Made A Huge Blunder On Peace In The Middle East

Last week, Jared Kushner and various other Trump administration officials met with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas reportedly urged the Americans to publicly endorse the two state solution. The Americans refused. The reason, according to the Washington Post, is that Kushner and company believe “that it is down to the two sides, not them, to agree on a way forward.” The fiction underlying Kushner’s contention is that Israel and the Palestinian Authority are independent actors of roughly equal power. They’re like two people bargaining over the sale of a house. It’s up to them to agree on a price. Or they’re like two countries negotiating a trade deal. Why should a third country dictate the terms?