Kushner asserts Palestinian self-determination but contradicts it too

Palestinians are not yet capable of governing themselves, said White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, an architect of the US's Middle East peace plan that is expected to be released this month. He, however, asserted that Palestinians should have self-determination, Al Jazeera reported.

"I do think they should have self-determination. I'm going to leave the details until we come out with the actual plan," Kushner said on Sunday when asked whether Palestinians were capable of governing themselves. The son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump, Kushner, last week said that the US may pull back from the longstanding mentions of a two-state solution with Palestine and accept Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"If you say 'two-state,' it means one thing to the Israelis, it means one thing to the Palestinians," Kushner said at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The Palestinian leadership has criticised the peace proposal.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh was quoted as saying last week that "any solution to the conflict in Palestine must be political ... and based on ending the occupation."

(With inputs from agencies.)