American president Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner is to return to the Middle East this week to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

He will be looking to secure further normalisation agreements between Israel and Arab countries, following a series of pacts successfully reached in recent months with the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, according to a US official reported by Reuters. 

He will also attempt to resolve the three-year-old rift between the Saudis and Qatar and also has a meeting lined up with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamin bin Hamid al-Thani. 

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE imposed sanctions on Qatar in 2017, claiming it supported terrorism, which the Gulf state denies. 

Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia for a secret meeting with the Crown Prince and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. 

The Saudis have so far held back from regularising ties with Israel, saying they were wanted to see further progress on a peace deal with the Palestinians. 

But fear of Iran has been pushing Arab countries closer to alliance with Israel. 

The assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Friday, which Iran blames on Israel, has increased tensions in the region.

President Trump pulled the USA out of the international deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme but his administration has only weeks left in office before Joe Biden enters the White House.