The Dossier: No, the Palestinians are not ready for statehood

No, the Palestinians are not ready for statehood

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is taking a lot of heat for comments he made during an interview with Axios, in which the president’s son-in-law appeared to remain unconvinced that Palestinian statehood should be an immediate priority for U.S. foreign policy.

“The hope is that they over time will become capable of governing,” Kushner said in an interview broadcast on HBO on Sunday.

“There are some things the current Palestinian government has done well, and there are some things that are lacking,” Kushner added. “And I do think that in order for the area to be investable, for investors to want to come in and invest in different industry and infrastructure and create jobs, you do need to have a fair judicial system, you need to have freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions.”

Survey after survey shows that Palestinian society is brutally anti-Semitic and very much supportive of jihadist terrorism. When polled, Palestinians prefer convicted terrorist leader Marwan Barghouti as their next president. He is followed in popularity by Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas. Ranking third is Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, who has abandoned the electoral process in order to ensure that he remains in charge of the Palestinian-controlled areas outside Gaza.

Trump administration will chat with Iran with ‘no preconditions,’ but Iran seems to prefer to talk to Democrats

Consistent with its stance on engaging in dialogue with other American adversaries, the Trump administration has made clear that the president is willing to meet with the leaders of the regime that rules Iran.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated this position at a news conference in Switzerland, reminding reporters that the administration does not have preconditions for meeting with Tehran leaders.

"We're prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions," Pompeo told reporters. "We're ready to sit down with them, but the American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue."

However, Iranian regime leaders continue to refuse to engage in discussions. This could be due to the fact that they are engaging in dialogue with Democratic Party leaders and former Obama administration officials, with the hopes that Iran’s preferred political party — whose leaders have unanimously promised to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal — will oust the president in 2020.

US-China trade war moves to academia

The U.S.-China trade war has become an all-out economic conflict between the two nations.

On Monday, Chinese education officials warned students about the supposed risks of studying in the United States, citing visa issues.

“This has affected Chinese students going to study in the United States or smoothly completing their studies,” read a statement from China’s Ministry of Education.

“The education ministry reminds students and academics of the need to strengthen risk assessment before studying abroad, enhance prevention awareness, and make corresponding preparations.”

It’s unclear whether this tactic will put pressure on the Trump administration to de-escalate the ongoing trade war. In fact, U.S. intelligence officials continue to warn about Chinese students studying in America being recruited to spy for the Chinese government while they are on U.S. soil. So, while academia may lose out on some tuition dollars, the decline in enrollment may actually help bolster U.S. national security interests as a whole.

US-Mexican officials commence trade, tariff talks

High-level delegations of U.S. and Mexican officials have begun meeting formally to negotiate trade policy, following President Trump’s decision last week to impose new tariffs on goods imported into the country from Mexico.

USA Today reports:

On Monday, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez plans talks with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Two days later, delegations led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will also meet in Washington.

Military launches investigation surrounding US Marine attacked at southern border

The Pentagon is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding a U.S. Marine who was reportedly attacked while on duty at the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to reports, the Marine fired his weapon while stationed at a mobile surveillance camera station near El Centro, California.

Breitbart News reported this past weekend:

Trusted sources working under the umbrella of CBP and the DOD told Breitbart News that a U.S. Marine reported that a group of three unknown individuals approached a Mobile Surveillance Camera (MSC) vehicle, opened the door, and attempted to pull the Marine from the vehicle.

Author’s note: This post originally appeared in Blaze Media’s The Dossier newsletter. For foreign policy news and views delivered to your inbox twice a week, subscribe here.

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