Media Insistence on Growing Palestinian Resistance to Trump Envoys First Attacks on Israeli-Palestinian Track

Despite the unparalleled onslaught of media criticism of a new administration, until now the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating track appeared to be the one issue that escaped the mass disparagement. But led by the nexus between the quest for the “ultimate deal” and the growing “bad boy status” of Jared Kushner, it seems Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking might be doomed to the level of immigration and ObamaCare. In the early days of the administration, political opponents went so far as to offer support “if” the president was making progress – a position spurred along by President Trump’s multiple reversals on promises made by Candidate Trump to the pro-Israel camp. But as the president talked tough on settlement building and it became clear the US Embassy won’t see Jerusalem anytime soon, interest in his approach perked up. On the negotiating front, the understated professional Jason Greenblatt overnight became the story after visiting Ramallah and finding admirers on both sides for his demeanor, honesty and seeming sincerity. But as the pressure on First Son-in-Law Kushner grows, there is less and less media space for telling the unusually positive story of Jason Greenblatt; or about the positive start to Ambassador David Freedman’s tenure – no fist-fights with liberals and nothing anyone has seen as problematic or unprofessional. In fact, Friedman appears prepared to negotiate with the Palestinians even though the PA is not on his beat because of the bizarre diplomatic paradigm Washington has set up to avoid recognizing any form of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem or areas Israel conquered in the 1967 war. On the other hand, media outlets are presenting the matter of the Palestinian Authority’s paying of stipends and rewards to families of those killed in the act of trying to kill Israelis in less than full context, in particular failing to mention the ire of European donor states – the same ones that rile at Israel’s presence on post-1967 lands — at the PA using their contributions for such purposes. Regardless of what one thinks of the administration so far, it has clearly avoided being reflexively supportive of either side. But the early gravitas that appears to be the work of professionals Greenblatt and Friedman is clearly threatened by the Kushner Karnival.
le at Gaza’s hospitals.