White House adviser Jared Kushner’s third peace-seeking mission to the Middle East was officially labeled as “productive,” though it clearly brought no major breakthroughs in efforts to restart long-stalled direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Joining Kushner on last week’s trip were Jason Greenblatt, the White House special representatives for international negotiations, along with Dina Powell, the deputy national security adviser. The trio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and held high-level talks in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan.

Moderate members of the 22-nation League of Arab States are on record as being prepared to fully accept Israel as a permanent reality in the region if it will allow the creation of an independent Palestinian State alongside Israel.  Keeping moderate Arab leaders in the loop makes sense in order to solidify any agreement that might be reached.

But the U.S. team faced a variety of challenges in its peace mission.

• Netanyahu and Abbas are dealing from positions of political weakness. Netanyahu could face criminal indictments stemming from multiple corruption investigations, and increasingly larger groups of Israeli demonstrators have gathered in front of his official residence demanding that he resign. Netanyahu has denounced the investigations into his official conduct as “a witch hunt.” 

Abbas has almost no remaining credibility as the official leader of the Palestinians because he can point to no tangible accomplishment in his 11 years in office.

But the two leaders’ weaknesses could spur them to want to achieve a peace agreement that would bring international praise. Abbas’ predecessor, the late Yasser Arafat, held back-channel talks with Israel in Oslo after he lost the support of the Soviet Union and after the ouster of his ally Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

•  In addition to Palestinian frustration over a lack of tangible progress, the Palestinian Authority remains split between the West Bank, which Abbas rules from Ramallah, and the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by the terrorist group Hamas since it ousted the P.A. from that powder-keg region six years ago.  

How could there be a “two state” solution when Hamas is the de facto government of the Gaza half of Palestinian territory?  That reality must be confronted and resolved before any progress can be made.

• Kushner and Greenblatt seemed more flexible on re-committing the effort toward a two-state solution, the official U.S. position for the past three presidential administrations. Abbas has threatened to dissolve the Palestinian Authority if no progress is achieved toward an independent Palestinian State.

In contrast to his icy relations with former President Barack Obama, Netanyahu enjoys a cordial and openly friendly relationship with President Donald Trump.  If Trump, through his son-in-law Kushner, can come to terms with Netanyahu on seeking a two-state solution, it just might become a reality.

Kushner’s trip did not stir up a typical Middle East sandstorm; it was more like a late summer breeze.  He deserves credit for keeping the process moving forward and enlisting the support of moderate Arab states in the region. 

Now, the U.S. team has to keep the pressure on all sides to avoid having the effort end up as just more hot air in a region that already has more than its share.