“We’re focused now on the broader region," said White House senior adviser Jared Kushner. | Jacquelyn Martin, File/AP Photo White House Kushner: White House has shifted from Khashoggi killing to Israeli-Palestinian peace

Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, his father-in-law, said on Monday that the American intelligence community was still “making their assessments” regarding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but that the administration was “focused now on the broader region” in the Middle East.

“I think our intelligence agencies are making their assessments, and we’re hoping to make sure that there’s justice brought where that should be,” Kushner said during an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. “We’re focused now on the broader region, which is hopefully figuring out how to bring a deal together between the Israelis and the Palestinians.”


Following the October killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, by a team of Saudi operatives, Kushner has come under increased scrutiny for his close relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is widely believed to have directed the assassination.

Kushner’s comments on Monday followed a report by The New York Times over the weekend that he has “continued to chat informally” with the crown prince since Khashoggi’s death, and has even advised the young royal on how best to “weather the storm” of international condemnation bearing down on Riyadh.

Kushner also told Hannity that the administration was hopeful that its Israeli-Palestinian peace plan would be released “in the next couple of months,” but cautioned that “not every side is going to love” the proposed agreement.

“There’s enough in it and enough reasons why people should take it and move forward,” Kushner said. “And this plan will keep the Israeli people safe and give them a good future, but also give a real opportunity and hope for the Palestinian people so that they can live much better lives.”