Trumps Travels to Israel, Where Jared Hopes to Broker Peace

Can President Trump broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians? That's the "ultimate deal" that will be on the president's mind as he travels Monday to Israel. Here's more from the New York Times:

Expectations are low for any major breakthrough during Mr. Trump's nearly 36-hour visit to Israel and the West Bank, but neither Mr. Netanyahu nor President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority wants to risk angering the American president, or be portrayed as the reluctant party to resuming long-stalled peace talks.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to meet Mr. Abbas on Tuesday in Bethlehem, in the West Bank. The Palestinian areas are seething, with a mass hunger strike of prisoners in Israeli jails entering its sixth week and violent protests in support of the strike that have turned deadly.

Leading this effort is Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump and a senior adviser at the White House. A private aide who shuns the spotlight, Kushner offered an on-the-record statement Sunday to acknowledge "great progress" during Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia this weekend to kick off his first foreign trip as president.

"The President asked us to plan a trip that would help unite the world against intolerance and terrorism and we have made great progress toward that goal in Saudi Arabia," Kushner said.