Jared Kushner on Middle East tour to build support for Trump peace plan

He will be accompanied to Morocco, Jordan and Israel by US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt

(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 16, 2019 White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner arrives to hear the US president speak on immigration proposals in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and assistant Jared Kushner has departed on a trip to Morocco, Jordan and Israel, the White House said on May 28, 2019, signalling a fresh round of talks on a proposed US Mideast peace plan. Kushner is accompanied by Jason Greenblatt, Trump's special representative to international negotiations, and Brian Hook, the special US representative for Iran, the White House said. / AFP / Brendan Smialowski
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Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, is embarking on a tour of the Middle East this week in a bid to build support for the administration's peace plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the White House said on Tuesday.

He will be joined by Jason Greenblatt, the US Middle East envoy reviled by the Palestinians, and Brian Hook, the special US representative for Iran.

The trip comes amid a flurry of other administration moves to shore up alliances with Arab allies against Iran and the deployment of warships and bombers to the region.

They "will travel from May 27 to May 31 to Rabat, Amman, and Jerusalem," said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Trump administration is expected to unveil the plan – after numerous failures by its predecessors – possibly as early as next month, but the Palestinians have already rejected it as heavily biased in favor of Israel.

Morocco and Jordan have yet to offer any public position on either the peace plan or the Bahrain meeting. Both have close ties with the Palestinian leadership and may fear public discontent should they endorse the plan.

Washington has yet to commit to an exact timetable with respect to the political aspects of the plan.

Mr Kushner is the chief architect of the proposals and Mr Greenblatt, a longtime Trump lawyer, has served as his right-hand man on the Middle East initiative.

But the Palestinians have refused to discuss the plan with Washington. They have refused to attend an economic workshop next month in Bahrain at which parts of the plan will be unveiled alongside top ministers from the Middle East.

Upon his arrival in the White House more than two years ago, Mr Trump proclaimed his ambition to secure a final accord ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But the odds of his succeeding where every previous US president – Republicans as well as Democrats – have failed appear particularly low.

Palestinians have boycotted the process since Mr Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.