As a White House adviser in the Trump administration, Jared Kushner took a special interest in the petroleum-rich monarchies of the Persian Gulf.

He formed a personal friendship with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. He helped forge ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and backed Emirati rulers in a feud with Qatar. Since the electoral defeat of his father-in-law, former President Donald Trump, Kushner has stayed active in the region through a nonprofit organization he established.

Now, in a move that has raised eyebrows among diplomats, investors and ethics watchdogs, Kushner is trying to raise money from the Persian Gulf states for a new investment firm he has founded. So far, he is having only mixed success.

Qatar, whose leaders saw Kushner as an opponent in the administration, declined to invest in his firm, a person familiar with those conversations said. So did the main Emirati sovereign wealth funds; Emirati rulers saw Kushner as an ally but questioned his track record in business, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

But the Saudis are more interested, according to four people briefed on their continuing negotiations. The kingdom’s $450 billion Public Investment Fund is negotiating with Kushner over what could prove to be a sizable investment in his new firm, two of those people said.

In a brief phone call, Kushner declined to discuss his new firm, Affinity Partners, and it is not clear which other investors he has spoken to so far inside or outside the United States. According to a person familiar with the firm’s plans, Kushner hopes to raise an amount in the low billions of dollars by early next year.

But his inquiries to Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds have raised questions about the ethics — or at least the optics — of seeking to raise large sums from officials he had dealt with on behalf of the U.S. government as recently as January, especially given the possibility of Trump running for president in 2024.

Kushner’s business experience is largely limited to the time he spent running his family’s real estate company. His best-known deal was the purchase of 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, for $1.8 billion in 2007, which became a financial albatross when the recession hit soon after. He was also owner and publisher of The New York Observer for a decade, until his father-in-law became president.

During the Trump administration, Kushner developed a particularly close rapport with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He played a leading role in the White House in defending the crown prince after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that he had directed the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for The Washington Post, who had criticized of the kingdom’s rulers.

Kushner would not be the first former Trump White House official to enter a lucrative business deal with the administration’s allies in the Persian Gulf soon after leaving office. Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury secretary, has received investments from the Saudis, the Emiratis and the Qataris, according to people familiar with the matter.

Other former advisers and employees have also actively sought money from the Saudis. An official of the Saudi Embassy in Washington declined to comment.

“When former White House officials start cashing in their time served with our government by cozying up to monarchs, it turns the stomach a bit. Is it illegal? No,” said Nick Penniman, founder and CEO of Issue One, a good-government organization in Washington. “Is it swampy and seemingly hypocritical? Yes.”

During a recent visit to the Middle East, Kushner made a stop in the UAE, two people with knowledge of the trip said. While working in the White House, he had developed a close relationship with the Emirati ambassador to Washington and worked closely with Emirati leaders on the first in a series of deals, known as the Abraham Accords, that opened diplomatic relations between Arab states and Israel.

But his cooperation with officials there while in the White House ran into Emirati concerns about Kushner’s business record, according to the person with knowledge of the discussions.

Mnuchin, who led a trading desk at Goldman Sachs, financed Hollywood movies and turned a failing regional bank profitable before joining the Trump administration, has had better luck. Emirati officials invested this year in his new, $2.5 billion investment fund, Liberty Strategic Capital, two people familiar with the matter said, as did the Public Investment Fund. A spokesperson for the firm said in a statement that Liberty “has a diverse investor base, including U.S. insurance companies, family offices, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors,” without mentioning specifics.

Qatari officials initially feared that they might face retaliation if they rejected Kushner’s invitation to invest and Trump or his allies returned to power, one person familiar with the Qatari deliberations said.

Qatar had turned down requests for investment by Kushner’s family in its New York real estate business, and Qatari officials have said they suspected that he held the rejection against them when Trump was in office. (The officials’ views were reflected in coverage on the Qatari-controlled news network Al-Jazeera.)

In 2017, Trump initially appeared to back an effort by the Saudis and Emiratis to cut off Qatar’s diplomatic and trade ties with the rest of the region as part of a power struggle.

But Qatar appears more secure now. It has long hosted and subsidized a major US&nbsp;airbase, and it has recently bolstered its prominence as an ally by playing a key role in the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan this year.

In 2018, a real estate fund in which Qatar has invested also provided a much-needed cash infusion to the Kushners for 666 Fifth Avenue, which had been struggling to cover its debts amid a stubborn vacancy rate.

Kushner’s current negotiations with Saudi Arabia, reported earlier by the website Project Brazen, are continuing, the four people familiar with the matter said; but no deal has been announced. His relationship with senior Saudi officials goes back to the beginning of the Trump administration in 2017.

In the first three months after Trump took office, Kushner bent protocol to orchestrate a private meal with the president at the White House for Crown Prince Mohammed — in a format usually reserved for heads of state — even though the prince had not yet been designated as the successor to the throne occupied by his father, King Salman.

That spring, only a few months later, Kushner successfully pushed for his father-in-law to make his first international trip to a summit in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, where the president was photographed participating in a traditional sword dance. Around the same time, Kushner personally helped negotiate a 10-year agreement for Saudi Arabia to buy more than $110 billion in U.S. weapons. Prince Mohammed was named crown prince that June.

Kushner and Crown Prince Mohammed regularly and informally communicated by text message, and they addressed each other by first name. After the Khashoggi killing, Kushner defended the crown prince within the White House, despite intelligence reports showing his involvement in the plan to execute the journalist.

In a move widely interpreted as an attempt to protect the prince, Trump kept those reports classified throughout his term. They were unsealed this year by President Joe Biden, who has called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” and has adopted a much cooler approach to the kingdom than his predecessor.

While in the White House, Kushner devoted much of his energy to trying to enlist Arab states in a grand bargain to provide economic benefits to the Palestinians in exchange for Palestinian concessions to Israel. Although that attempt was no more successful than previous efforts at Middle East peace, his talks with the Emiratis and a few neighbours ultimately yielded the more limited Abraham Accords on normalizing relations with Israel.

Kushner has adopted a low profile since leaving the White House. Along with his wife, Ivanka Trump, and their children, he relocated to Miami, beyond the media glare of New York and Washington. He established Affinity there in recent months.

He has told associates that he has no desire to reenter politics. Seeking to build on pacts he helped negotiate in government, Kushner started the Abraham Accords Institute for Peace, a nonprofit group that will seek to expand trade ties between Israel and its Arab neighbours.

Kushner also hopes that his new firm, Affinity, will find opportunities in cross-border investing in the Middle East, the person with knowledge of the firm’s plans said. One key area of interest, this person said, is to build investment relationships between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The firm is still being staffed up, the person said, adding that approaching investors in the United States and abroad is on the agenda.

Affinity recently hired Bret Pearlman, a founder of the Silicon Valley investment firm Elevation Partners and a longtime money manager for Josh Harris, a founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, according to two people with knowledge of the move. Asad Naqvi, a former partner at the London-based private equity firm Apis Partners, has also joined the investment team, one of those people added. (Both hires were reported earlier by Reuters.) Kushner will be CEO.

Neither Pearlman nor Naqvi responded to requests for comment.

As a White House adviser in the Trump administration, Jared Kushner took a special interest in the petroleum-rich monarchies of the Persian Gulf. He formed a personal friendship with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

As a White House adviser in the Trump administration, Jared Kushner took a special interest in the petroleum-rich monarchies of the Persian Gulf. He formed a personal friendship with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. He helped forge ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and backed Emirati rulers in a feud with Qatar. Since the electoral defeat of his father-in-law, former President Donald Trump, Kushner has stayed active in the region through a nonprofit organization he established. Now, in a move that has raised eyebrows among diplomats, investors and ethics watchdogs, Kushner is trying to raise money from the Persian Gulf states for a new investment firm he has founded. So far, he is having only mixed success. Qatar, whose leaders saw Kushner as an opponent in the administration, declined to invest in his firm, a person familiar with those conversations said. So did the main Emirati sovereign wealth funds; Emirati rulers saw Kushner as an ally but questioned his track record in business, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. But the Saudis are more interested, according to four people briefed on their continuing negotiations. The kingdom’s $450 billion Public Investment Fund is negotiating with Kushner over what could prove to be a sizable investment in his new firm, two of those people said. In a brief phone call, Kushner declined to discuss his new firm, Affinity Partners, and it is not clear which other investors he has spoken to so far inside or outside the United States. According to a person familiar with the firm’s plans, Kushner hopes to raise an amount in the low billions of dollars by early next year. But his inquiries to Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds have raised questions about the ethics — or at least the optics — of seeking to raise large sums from officials he had dealt with on behalf of the U.S. government as recently as January, especially given the possibility of Trump running for president in 2024. Kushner’s business experience is largely limited to the time he spent running his family’s real estate company. His best-known deal was the purchase of 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, for $1.8 billion in 2007, which became a financial albatross when the recession hit soon after. He was also owner and publisher of The New York Observer for a decade, until his father-in-law became president. During the Trump administration, Kushner developed a particularly close rapport with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He played a leading role in the White House in defending the crown prince after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that he had directed the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for The Washington Post, who had criticized of the kingdom’s rulers. Kushner would not be the first former Trump White House official to enter a lucrative business deal with the administration’s allies in the Persian Gulf soon after leaving office. Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury secretary, has received investments from the Saudis, the Emiratis and the Qataris, according to people familiar with the matter. Other former advisers and employees have also actively sought money from the Saudis. An official of the Saudi Embassy in Washington declined to comment. “When former White House officials start cashing in their time served with our government by cozying up to monarchs, it turns the stomach a bit. Is it illegal? No,” said Nick Penniman, founder and CEO of Issue One, a good-government organization in Washington. “Is it swampy and seemingly hypocritical? Yes.” During a recent visit to the Middle East, Kushner made a stop in the UAE, two people with knowledge of the trip said. While working in the White House, he had developed a close relationship with the Emirati ambassador to Washington and worked closely with Emirati leaders on the first in a series of deals, known as the Abraham Accords, that opened diplomatic relations between Arab states and Israel. But his cooperation with officials there while in the White House ran into Emirati concerns about Kushner’s business record, according to the person with knowledge of the discussions. Mnuchin, who led a trading desk at Goldman Sachs, financed Hollywood movies and turned a failing regional bank profitable before joining the Trump administration, has had better luck. Emirati officials invested this year in his new, $2.5 billion investment fund, Liberty Strategic Capital, two people familiar with the matter said, as did the Public Investment Fund. A spokesperson for the firm said in a statement that Liberty “has a diverse investor base, including U.S. insurance companies, family offices, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors,” without mentioning specifics. Qatari officials initially feared that they might face retaliation if they rejected Kushner’s invitation to invest and Trump or his allies returned to power, one person familiar with the Qatari deliberations said. Qatar had turned down requests for investment by Kushner’s family in its New York real estate business, and Qatari officials have said they suspected that he held the rejection against them when Trump was in office. (The officials’ views were reflected in coverage on the Qatari-controlled news network Al-Jazeera.) In 2017, Trump initially appeared to back an effort by the Saudis and Emiratis to cut off Qatar’s diplomatic and trade ties with the rest of the region as part of a power struggle. But Qatar appears more secure now. It has long hosted and subsidized a major US airbase, and it has recently bolstered its prominence as an ally by playing a key role in the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan this year. In 2018, a real estate fund in which Qatar has invested also provided a much-needed cash infusion to the Kushners for 666 Fifth Avenue, which had been struggling to cover its debts amid a stubborn vacancy rate. Kushner’s current negotiations with Saudi Arabia, reported earlier by the website Project Brazen, are continuing, the four people familiar with the matter said; but no deal has been announced. His relationship with senior Saudi officials goes back to the beginning of the Trump administration in 2017. In the first three months after Trump took office, Kushner bent protocol to orchestrate a private meal with the president at the White House for Crown Prince Mohammed — in a format usually reserved for heads of state — even though the prince had not yet been designated as the successor to the throne occupied by his father, King Salman. That spring, only a few months later, Kushner successfully pushed for his father-in-law to make his first international trip to a summit in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, where the president was photographed participating in a traditional sword dance. Around the same time, Kushner personally helped negotiate a 10-year agreement for Saudi Arabia to buy more than $110 billion in U.S. weapons. Prince Mohammed was named crown prince that June. Kushner and Crown Prince Mohammed regularly and informally communicated by text message, and they addressed each other by first name. After the Khashoggi killing, Kushner defended the crown prince within the White House, despite intelligence reports showing his involvement in the plan to execute the journalist. In a move widely interpreted as an attempt to protect the prince, Trump kept those reports classified throughout his term. They were unsealed this year by President Joe Biden, who has called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” and has adopted a much cooler approach to the kingdom than his predecessor. While in the White House, Kushner devoted much of his energy to trying to enlist Arab states in a grand bargain to provide economic benefits to the Palestinians in exchange for Palestinian concessions to Israel. Although that attempt was no more successful than previous efforts at Middle East peace, his talks with the Emiratis and a few neighbours ultimately yielded the more limited Abraham Accords on normalizing relations with Israel. Kushner has adopted a low profile since leaving the White House. Along with his wife, Ivanka Trump, and their children, he relocated to Miami, beyond the media glare of New York and Washington. He established Affinity there in recent months. He has told associates that he has no desire to reenter politics. Seeking to build on pacts he helped negotiate in government, Kushner started the Abraham Accords Institute for Peace, a nonprofit group that will seek to expand trade ties between Israel and its Arab neighbours. Kushner also hopes that his new firm, Affinity, will find opportunities in cross-border investing in the Middle East, the person with knowledge of the firm’s plans said. One key area of interest, this person said, is to build investment relationships between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The firm is still being staffed up, the person said, adding that approaching investors in the United States and abroad is on the agenda. Affinity recently hired Bret Pearlman, a founder of the Silicon Valley investment firm Elevation Partners and a longtime money manager for Josh Harris, a founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, according to two people with knowledge of the move. Asad Naqvi, a former partner at the London-based private equity firm Apis Partners, has also joined the investment team, one of those people added. (Both hires were reported earlier by Reuters.) Kushner will be CEO. Neither Pearlman nor Naqvi responded to requests for comment.

Seeking backers for new fund, Jared Kushner turns to Middle East

Israeli police increased their presence in Jerusalem's Old City, ahead of the first Friday prayers at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque since US President Donald Trump unveiled a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/benjamin-netanyahu-tells-vladimir-putin-mideast-deal-a-new-opportunity-277570">controversial peace plan</a>.

The plan released on Tuesday was seen as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jared-kushner-meet-the-man-behind-middle-east-peace-plan-277295">heavily biased towards Israel</a> and was angrily rejected by Palestinians, with one of the key bones of contention being its classification of Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided capital."

Palestinians&nbsp;have long seen the city's eastern sector, which was occupied by Israel in 1967, as the capital of their future state.

At the Al-Aqsa compound in east Jerusalem, a group of Palestinians gathered after dawn prayers and "began a procession with nationalist calls," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Police "responded and dispersed the gathering," the official added. Thousands of Palestinians were expected to attend the main prayers at noon, which are often a rallying point for demonstrations.

The Al-Aqsa mosque is Islam's third holiest is also revered by Jews as the location of their Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Rosenfeld said "heightened security" measures would be in place across the Old City and "police units will respond if necessary".

The Trump plan gives Israel the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/trumps-west-asia-plan-most-of-west-bank-recognised-as-israel-277297">green light to annex</a> the strategic Jordan Valley, which 30 per cent of the &nbsp;West Bank, as well as all Israeli settlements, which now number more than 200, including those in annexed east Jerusalem.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/has-donald-trump-proposed-a-middle-east-peace-plan-or-terms-of-surrender-for-the-palestinians-277760">Has Donald Trump proposed a Middle East peace plan – or terms of surrender for the Palestinians?</a>

The settlements are home to some 600,000&nbsp;&nbsp;are considered illegal under international law. Immediately after Trump presented the plan&nbsp;flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,&nbsp;officials said they would swiftly send an annexation bill to the&nbsp;cabinet on Sunday.

But the situation seemed less clear on Friday, after Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner seemed to row back from initial comments by US ambassador David Friedman that Israel could move ahead with annexation immediately.

Jared said a decision would be best left until a new government has been formed after a general election scheduled for March 2, even though both major parties support it.

Gaza protests, rockets

Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces in the West Bank have left at least 30 Palestinians wounded since Tuesday, although the demonstrations have mostly been small.

In Hamas-controlled Gaza, thousands gathered for demonstrations this week. Many more donned badges proclaiming "no to the deal of the century".

There has been some rocket fire from Gaza into on nothing like the scale of barrages launched during multiple flare-ups last year.

Israel carried out on Hamas targets in Gaza early Friday after three rockets were fired the previous evening, causing neither casualties nor damage, the army said.

One rocket was fired on Wednesday evening drawing similar retaliation.

Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008 but over the past year, the Islamists an informal truce with Israel, under which the Jewish state has slightly eased its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for calm.

Quest for Arab support

The Palestinians have sought to rally international support against the plan, which they see as illegal and a violation of their rights.

"What we're trying to do here is to get behind us, behind president Mahmud Abbas and his determination to achieve&nbsp;peace," said Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.

But there was a muted response, even within the Arab world.

Both Egypt and the Gulf Arab states held off on any immediate criticism of their US ally, saying they would study the plan's contents.

Those governments have quietly moved closer to Israel in recent years amid shared hostility towards Iran. Abbas will try to rally opposition at an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo on Saturday.

Israeli police increased their presence in Jerusalem's Old City, ahead of the first Friday prayers at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque since US President Donald Trump unveiled a controversial peace plan.

Israeli police increased their presence in Jerusalem's Old City, ahead of the first Friday prayers at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque since US President Donald Trump unveiled a controversial peace plan. The plan released on Tuesday was seen as heavily biased towards Israel and was angrily rejected by Palestinians, with one of the key bones of contention being its classification of Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided capital." Palestinians have long seen the city's eastern sector, which was occupied by Israel in 1967, as the capital of their future state. At the Al-Aqsa compound in east Jerusalem, a group of Palestinians gathered after dawn prayers and "began a procession with nationalist calls," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Police "responded and dispersed the gathering," the official added. Thousands of Palestinians were expected to attend the main prayers at noon, which are often a rallying point for demonstrations. The Al-Aqsa mosque is Islam's third holiest is also revered by Jews as the location of their Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Rosenfeld said "heightened security" measures would be in place across the Old City and "police units will respond if necessary". The Trump plan gives Israel the green light to annex the strategic Jordan Valley, which 30 per cent of the West Bank, as well as all Israeli settlements, which now number more than 200, including those in annexed east Jerusalem. Also Read: Has Donald Trump proposed a Middle East peace plan – or terms of surrender for the Palestinians? The settlements are home to some 600,000 are considered illegal under international law. Immediately after Trump presented the plan flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, officials said they would swiftly send an annexation bill to the cabinet on Sunday. But the situation seemed less clear on Friday, after Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner seemed to row back from initial comments by US ambassador David Friedman that Israel could move ahead with annexation immediately. Jared said a decision would be best left until a new government has been formed after a general election scheduled for March 2, even though both major parties support it. Gaza protests, rockets Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces in the West Bank have left at least 30 Palestinians wounded since Tuesday, although the demonstrations have mostly been small. In Hamas-controlled Gaza, thousands gathered for demonstrations this week. Many more donned badges proclaiming "no to the deal of the century". There has been some rocket fire from Gaza into on nothing like the scale of barrages launched during multiple flare-ups last year. Israel carried out on Hamas targets in Gaza early Friday after three rockets were fired the previous evening, causing neither casualties nor damage, the army said. One rocket was fired on Wednesday evening drawing similar retaliation. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008 but over the past year, the Islamists an informal truce with Israel, under which the Jewish state has slightly eased its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for calm. Quest for Arab support The Palestinians have sought to rally international support against the plan, which they see as illegal and a violation of their rights. "What we're trying to do here is to get behind us, behind president Mahmud Abbas and his determination to achieve peace," said Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. But there was a muted response, even within the Arab world. Both Egypt and the Gulf Arab states held off on any immediate criticism of their US ally, saying they would study the plan's contents. Those governments have quietly moved closer to Israel in recent years amid shared hostility towards Iran. Abbas will try to rally opposition at an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo on Saturday.

Israel tightens security for first Friday prayers since Trump plan

US President Donald Trump is close to a decision on whether to recognize Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital, his son-in-law and Middle East peace envoy Jared Kushner said Sunday.

Palestinian leaders are lobbying desperately against such a move, fearing it could provoke such fury in the Arab world it could sink peace hopes for a generation.

But Kushner, the 36-year-old head of a small and tight-knit White House negotiating team, made a rare public appearance to put an optimistic face on his efforts.

&quot;The president&#39;s going to make his decision,&quot; Kushner told the Saban Forum, choosing not to deny reports Trump will declare Jerusalem Israel&#39;s capital on Wednesday. (Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="http://http://www.wionews.com/world/arab-league-chief-warns-trump-jerusalem-move-could-fuel-violence-25777">Arab League chief warns Trump Jerusalem move could fuel violence</a>)

&quot;He&#39;s still looking at a lot of different facts and when he makes his decision he&#39;ll be the one who wants to tell you. So he&#39;ll make sure he does that at the right time.&quot;

On Monday, Trump must decide whether to sign a legal waiver that would delay plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for another six months.

Every US president has done this since 1995, judging the time not ripe for such a move, and Trump is expected to begrudgingly do so for a second time this week.

But, according to diplomats and observers, he is also now expected to announce in a speech on Wednesday that he supports Israel&#39;s claim on Jerusalem as its capital.

&nbsp;New intifada? 
This will likely provoke fury among Palestinians and the wider Arab world, and may hamper Kushner&#39;s long-shot effort to revamp the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Palestinians have been lobbying regional leaders to oppose the decision and the armed Islamist movement Hamas has threatened to launch a new &quot;intifada&quot;.

But Kushner, addressing a sympathetic audience at an annual meeting of Israeli and US policy-makers hosted by businessman Haim Saban, sees grounds for optimism.

The real estate developer turned presidential adviser is working closely with Israeli officials and has developed ties with the young Saudi and Emirati monarchs.&nbsp;

He sees an opportunity for peace if the Sunni Arab countries of the region align themselves with Israel in opposition to the threat of Iran.&nbsp;

Israel&#39;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares this hope, although he dares hope an accommodation with Arab countries could precede any Palestinian deal.

Kushner, in common with US official thinking under previous administrations, sees a Israeli-Palestinian settlement as coming before any great re-alignment.

&quot;You&#39;ve got to focus on solving the big issue,&quot; he told a friendly but frankly skeptical Saban, and an audience of dignitaries and policy experts.

&quot;The regional dynamic plays a big role in what we think the opportunities are because ... a lot of these countries look and say they all want the same thing.&nbsp;

&quot;And they look at the regional threats and I think that they see Israel, who is traditionally their foe, is a much more natural ally to them than it was 20 years ago.&quot;&nbsp;

&quot;You&#39;ve a lot of people who want to put this together, but you have to overcome this issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order for that to happen,&quot; he said.

&nbsp;&#39;Regime will fall&#39; 
 
Earlier, Netanyahu also addressed the forum by video link from Israel, and also spoke of the opportunity for reconciliation in the region.

But his focus was firmly on the threat of Iran, which he again compared to Nazi Germany in its alleged determination to &quot;murder Jews.&quot;

His address barely touched on the Palestinian issue, but did speak of regional peace, under a longer timeframe than the one Kushner has in mind.

&quot;And that&#39;s just one reason why I&#39;m so hopeful about the future. Today Israel is more welcomed by the nations of the world than ever before,&quot; Netanyahu said.

&quot;When I look forward 50 and 100 years I believe Israel will be embraced openly by its Arab neighbors rather than in secret in the way it&#39;s done today.&quot;

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, was less optimistic, warning a change in the US stance on Jerusalem would spell disaster.

In a statement, he warned the United States would &quot;be disqualifying itself to play any role in any initiative towards achieving a just and lasting peace.&quot; 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

According to diplomats and observers, the US President is also now expected to announce in a speech on Wednesday that he supports Israel's claim on Jerusalem as its capital

US President Donald Trump is close to a decision on whether to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, his son-in-law and Middle East peace envoy Jared Kushner said Sunday. Palestinian leaders are lobbying desperately against such a move, fearing it could provoke such fury in the Arab world it could sink peace hopes for a generation. But Kushner, the 36-year-old head of a small and tight-knit White House negotiating team, made a rare public appearance to put an optimistic face on his efforts. "The president's going to make his decision," Kushner told the Saban Forum, choosing not to deny reports Trump will declare Jerusalem Israel's capital on Wednesday. (Also Read: Arab League chief warns Trump Jerusalem move could fuel violence) "He's still looking at a lot of different facts and when he makes his decision he'll be the one who wants to tell you. So he'll make sure he does that at the right time." On Monday, Trump must decide whether to sign a legal waiver that would delay plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for another six months. Every US president has done this since 1995, judging the time not ripe for such a move, and Trump is expected to begrudgingly do so for a second time this week. But, according to diplomats and observers, he is also now expected to announce in a speech on Wednesday that he supports Israel's claim on Jerusalem as its capital. New intifada? This will likely provoke fury among Palestinians and the wider Arab world, and may hamper Kushner's long-shot effort to revamp the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Palestinians have been lobbying regional leaders to oppose the decision and the armed Islamist movement Hamas has threatened to launch a new "intifada". But Kushner, addressing a sympathetic audience at an annual meeting of Israeli and US policy-makers hosted by businessman Haim Saban, sees grounds for optimism. The real estate developer turned presidential adviser is working closely with Israeli officials and has developed ties with the young Saudi and Emirati monarchs. He sees an opportunity for peace if the Sunni Arab countries of the region align themselves with Israel in opposition to the threat of Iran. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares this hope, although he dares hope an accommodation with Arab countries could precede any Palestinian deal. Kushner, in common with US official thinking under previous administrations, sees a Israeli-Palestinian settlement as coming before any great re-alignment. "You've got to focus on solving the big issue," he told a friendly but frankly skeptical Saban, and an audience of dignitaries and policy experts. "The regional dynamic plays a big role in what we think the opportunities are because ... a lot of these countries look and say they all want the same thing. "And they look at the regional threats and I think that they see Israel, who is traditionally their foe, is a much more natural ally to them than it was 20 years ago." "You've a lot of people who want to put this together, but you have to overcome this issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order for that to happen," he said. 'Regime will fall' Earlier, Netanyahu also addressed the forum by video link from Israel, and also spoke of the opportunity for reconciliation in the region. But his focus was firmly on the threat of Iran, which he again compared to Nazi Germany in its alleged determination to "murder Jews." His address barely touched on the Palestinian issue, but did speak of regional peace, under a longer timeframe than the one Kushner has in mind. "And that's just one reason why I'm so hopeful about the future. Today Israel is more welcomed by the nations of the world than ever before," Netanyahu said. "When I look forward 50 and 100 years I believe Israel will be embraced openly by its Arab neighbors rather than in secret in the way it's done today." Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, was less optimistic, warning a change in the US stance on Jerusalem would spell disaster. In a statement, he warned the United States would "be disqualifying itself to play any role in any initiative towards achieving a just and lasting peace."

Trump close to decision on whether to recognise Jerusalem as Israel capital: Jared Kushner