As US President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner recently toured the Middle East discussing Trump's proposed peace plan, Russia was busy with its own efforts on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Given that the Trump administration hasn't revealed many details about the plan, Moscow presumes Kushner was promoting US brokerage of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and discussing recent developments in the Gaza Strip. Russia believes Trump's controversial decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem virtually ensures that the Palestinians will refuse to accept the United States as primary mediators in the peace process. That said, however, the United States still has a lot to offer the Palestinians and the region as a whole. Financial aid, in particular, is likely to convince the Arab leaders who Kushner was wooing to back Trump’s peace plan. There are already reports that four Mideast majors — Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Jordan — are onboard, even without the Palestinians' support.