Kushner joins Israelis on landmark visit to Morocco

RABAT, Morocco — Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner led a delegation from Israel to Morocco on Tuesday on the first known direct flight since the two countries agreed to establish full diplomatic ties earlier this month as part of a series of U.S.-brokered normalization accords with Arab countries. Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has overseen the diplomatic push that saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco normalize relations with Israel in historic agreements that also brought them major favors from Washington. Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, who served as U.N. envoy to the Western Sahara, has called it “an astounding retreat from the principles of international law and diplomacy.” Israel has traditionally backed the U.N. position and has not said whether it will join the U.S. in recognizing Moroccan control over the area. The delegations signed a joint declaration pledging to quickly begin direct flights, promote economic cooperation, reopen liaison offices and move toward “full diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations.” Adam Boehler, chief executive of the U.S. international development and finance corporation, said he expected the visit to yield huge trade benefits by bringing an existing relationship out into the open.