Kushner Reaffirms US Support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan in Western Sahara Dispute

"For the United States, the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty is the only realistic choice for a just, lasting and acceptable solution to resolve the Sahara conflict," he said in an exclusive interview with the Arabic-language newspaper Al Ahdath Al Maghribia. According to his explanations, the former approach in the management of the Sahara conflict "has shown its flaws, and continuing to ignore this fact only harms the Moroccans and the Polisario Front."

The senior US official is joining Morocco on Tuesday aboard the first direct flight from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to Rabat. He will be accompanied by an Israeli-American delegation. This inaugural flight follows the announcement of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel.

In announcing the US recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara on December 10, outgoing President Donald Trump had stated that "Morocco’s serious, credible and realistic autonomy proposal is the only basis for a just solution for lasting peace and prosperity." According to his senior adviser, Jared Kushner, an "independent Sahrawi state is not a realistic solution to resolve this conflict."

According to him, the United States "urges the parties to engage immediately and constructively with the UN, and to consider innovative and real ways to advance the peace process, using the Moroccan autonomy plan as the only framework for negotiating a mutually acceptable solution." To achieve this ideal, they "encourage the economic and social development of Morocco, including the Sahara provinces," he added.