From left to right, Ron Dermer, Jason Greenblatt, Jared Kushner, Benjamin Netanyahu, Dina Powell and David Friedman meet in Jerusalem, Aug. 24, 2017. (Amos Ben Gershom/Israeli Government Press Office)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his top Middle East negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, made a hospital visit to Saeb Erekat, the top Palestinian peace negotiator who just underwent a lung transplant.
“They went to visit him to see how he was feeling after surgery and to show support to Saeb, his wife and his son,” a White House official said Wednesday when JTA asked about a report that the two men, who are both Jewish, had gone to see Erekat at a hospital in suburban Washington, D.C.
Shirin Yaseen, a spokeswoman for the Palestine Liberation Organization delegation, also confirmed the visit.
“Ambassador Husam Zomlot was present, too,” she said, referring to the PLO envoy to Washington. “They went to see him after the surgery and wish him wellness and better health.”
Kushner is a senior adviser to Trump and is supervising the effort to reconvene Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
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