No Palestinian recognition if peace plan goals unmet: Trump aide

US presidential advisor Jared Kushner said on Sunday that if Palestinians are unable to meet the conditions of the new Middle East peace plan he crafted, Israel should not take "the risk to recognise them as a state."
Kushner was challenged by CNN host Fareed Zakaria in a program aired Sunday to explain why demands made of the Palestinians before they are given a state -- a free press, free elections, religious freedom, an independent judiciary and a reliable financial system -- did not amount to "a killer amendment."
Kushner replied that the Palestinian territories amount to "a police state... not exactly a thriving democracy."

"If they don't think they can uphold these standards, then I don't think we can get Israel to take the risk to recognize them as a state."
Kushner added: "The only thing more dangerous than what we have now is a failed state."
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, said the plan reflected a persistent pro-Israel bias by the Trump administration and that it "will not pass."