WASHINGTON (AFP) - President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Nov 22) he would "love" to clinch a deal to end the intractable conflict between Israel and the Palestinians despite the checkered history of US attempts to broker a Middle East peace.
"I would love to be the one who made peace with Israel and the Palestinians, that would be such a great achievement," Mr Trump said in an interview with The New York Times.
A New York Times reporter tweeted that Mr Trump also suggested that his son-in-law Jared Kushner could help broker the deal.
Mr Kushner, who is married to Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka, is from an Orthodox Jewish family. The businessman and investor was a close adviser to Mr Trump during the election campaign.
After Mr Trump's Nov 8 win, Mr Kushner reportedly asked for access to the daily White House security briefings given to his father-in-law.
Mr Kushner and his wife were present when Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Nov 17, the President-elect's first meeting with a foreign leader.
Mr Trump has raised Palestinian ire by proposing that Jerusalem should be recognised as Israel's capital, an idea contrary to traditional US policy.
The Israeli right has expressed particular satisfaction with Mr Trump's election win, viewing it as a sign to resume or accelerate settlement building in the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, and even the end of the idea of an independent Palestinian state.
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman last week said Mr Trump's aides were urging right-wing Israeli politicians to curb their public jubilation at his election, according to Israeli media.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has been trying for months, unsuccessfully, to bring Israelis and Palestinians together for peace talks. Direct talks between the two sides ended two and a half years ago.
