President-elect Trump made one error in his remarkable interview with the Times — confessing, “I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians. I would love that — that would be such a great achievement, because nobody’s been able to do it.” We would urge him to devote every Middle East moment he has to resisting this temptation.

The question came up not in the context of any discussion of the Middle East. Rather it was in response to Maggie Haberman’s question about what role the President-elect’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, would have in the new administration. Mr. Trump at first suggested “maybe nothing, because I don’t want to have people saying ‘conflict.’” Then again, too, he said, “he’s a quality person and I think he can be very helpful.”

That’s when he said that he’d love to be the one to make peace with Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. Ms. Haberman asked whether Mr. Trump thinks Mr. Kushner “can be part of that.” Said Mr. Trump: “Well, I think he’d be very good at it. I mean he knows it so well. He knows the region, knows the people, knows the players. I would love to be — and you can put that down in a list of many things that I’d like to be able to do.”

We, for one, don’t think Mr. Kushner or Mr. Trump would be good at making peace between Israel and the Arabs. It’s not that we lack for admiration for either of them (we endorsed Mr. Trump and have no doubt that Mr. Kushner helped his father-in-law win the election). We don’t think any American can make peace between Israel and the Arabs. It’s just not our peace to make.

The only party that can make the peace is the Palestinian Arabs themselves. They can have peace the moment they want it. The Jewish state has made this clear from the time of its declaration and at every turn since then. All the American peace efforts have done nothing but retard the peace. They have done so by suggesting to the Arabs that America is prepared to pressure Israel to be more forthcoming.

It’s a formula for failure, as automatic as rain in the tropics. The way we have often put it is that if peace is the ambition, it is counterproductive for America to stand between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. Better to shadow Israel one notch to the hawkish side, so that the Arabs know they can’t look to America to assist them in twisting Israel’s arm. Why would Jared Kushner or any other American want that kind of work?

We don’t mean to suggest that peace is any less possible under Mr. Trump than any other president. On the contrary, one of the reasons we endorsed him is in the hope that he has the kind of crust needed to resist the temptation of being the peacemaker. That is the test of strength and character, announcing unequivocal support for Israel and letting the Arabs come to terms with what President George W. Bush called the “the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David.”