Kushner: UAE-Israel agreement 1.5 yrs in the making

President Donald Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner says the agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel was a year and a half in the making.

"This is something that was talked about but never really got to the right place for it to happen," said Kushner in the White House briefing room on Thursday.

"As you know, it deals deals happen when deals are ready and peace deals are very rare and very historic. And there's a lot of reasons why people would be held back from moving forward."

The two countries have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

The Palestinians expressed anger over the announcement and the official Palestinian broadcaster Palestine TV reported Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called an urgent meeting of his top leadership to discuss the agreement and determine a position on it.

Trump tweeted a statement from the countries, acknowledging the deal. He then told reporters in the Oval Office that it was “a truly historic moment.”

The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while attempts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway. Israel and the UAE are among Trump's closest foreign allies.

Kushner also was asked during the briefing about him reportedly meeting with Kanye West in Colorado.

"I known for about 10 years and we talk every now and then about different things, and we both happen to be in Colorado," said Kushner.

"We got together and we had a great discussion about a lot of things. He has some great ideas for her for for what he'd like to see happen in the country, and that's why he has the candidacy that he's been doing. But again, there's a lot of issues that the president's champion that he admires. And it was just great to have a friendly discussion."

West, who once backed Republican President Donald Trump, announced last month that he had broken with Trump and would launch his own presidential bid. West has since qualified in states such as Oklahoma, Arkansas  and Colorado, while his effort to get on the ballot is being challenged in Wisconsin.

Lawyers and activists with GOP ties in have been involved in efforts in Arkansas and other states to get West on the ballot, fueling suspicions that he's being pushed by Trump allies hoping to siphon support away from former Vice President Joe Biden.