Kushner arrives in Israel, visits family of officer killed in terror attack

Trump's son-in-law starts one-day visit in which he's due to try to bring Israel, Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Updated: JUNE 21, 2017 23:55
Jared Kushner (photo credit: REUTERS)
Jared Kushner
(photo credit: REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, visited the mourning family of slain Border Police officer St.-Sgt.-Maj. Hadas Malka, shortly after arriving in Israel on Wednesday to restart peace talks.
Malka, 23, was killed on Friday evening while guarding the Old City’s Damascus Gate, in a terrorist attack carried out by three Palestinians armed with knives and an improvised automatic weapon after illegally entering Jerusalem from the West Bank.
Border Police officer killed in Jerusalem terror attack (credit: REUTERS)
According to a Malka family representative, Kushner, who was accompanied by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, spent roughly 30 minutes with her parents during the shiva mourning period call in Moshav Givat Ezer.
“He offered the condolences to the bereaved family from the US president, who spoke to his son-in-law on the way and asked that he be kept updated about the visit,” the friend told Ynet.
“Kushner said that the president himself asked him to express condolences on behalf of the United States.”
During the visit, Malka’s parents spoke of their daughter’s bravery and patriotism, noting that she joined the Border Police following her IDF service in the navy.
“Her father [David Malka] told [Kushner] and the ambassador that she always said to [her parents] that it is important to guard the capital of Israel, because if we don’t protect the capital, there won’t be a state,” the family’s representative said.
“The ambassador was also apprised of developments regarding the investigation [of the attack], which began with the arrest of the [east Jerusalem man] who drove the terrorists to the site of the attack, as well as the arrest of the mother of one of the terrorists [for helping them].
“The father told him that on the one hand, there is a mother [Geula Malka] who is crying and in pain over the death of her daughter. On the other hand, there is another mother who is praising and glorifying her son who should have killed more people, from her point of view.”