Kushner plans to visit Israel next week for Gaza talks
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets Jared Kushner, then a senior White House adviser, in 2019. (Photo by Kobi Gideon / GPO / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Jared Kushner, President Trump's envoy and son-in-law, is planning to visit Israel next week for talks on the situation in Gaza, according to five sources with knowledge of the plan.
Why it matters: This would be Kushner's first trip to Israel since January. It comes as the White House and Trump's Board of Peace are trying to push forward with the next phase of the Gaza plan, which focuses on disarming Hamas and a potential Israeli withdrawal.
- The Netanyahu government is highly skeptical of the U.S. Gaza plan, and the upcoming election in October is making the issue even more politically sensitive.
- "We see eye-to-eye on the strategic goal, but Israel has expressed some doubts about the plan and we want to talk to them in order to make sure we are coordinated," a U.S. official said, while noting the exact dates of the trip could change.
Driving the news: Trump announced two weeks ago that his Board of Peace had reached an agreement with Hamas to disarm and transfer civilian and security control of Gaza to a new Palestinian technocratic government.
- On Sunday, under pressure from his coalition partners and political opponents, Netanyahu publicly rejected the plan for disarming Hamas.
- His statement came a few days after he spoke on the phone with Kushner and promised to give the plan a chance, despite his skepticism. He also pledged to curb attacks on Gaza so the demilitarization process could begin, a U.S. official said.
- A senior U.S. official said the White House saw Netanyahu's statement as election-season politics and not necessarily a policy declaration.
- "We understand Bibi's political needs. We have no problem with it as long as he continues to do what we ask — especially regarding restraining attacks in Gaza," the U.S. official said.
- Since then, Israel has conducted far fewer strikes on Gaza and the Israeli military (IDF) pulled back to the Yellow Line — where it was supposed to be deployed under the agreement.
State of play: Kushner is planning to travel to Israel with Nickolay Mladenov — who was appointed the Gaza Board of Peace "high representative" — and meet with Netanyahu and other senior officials.
- Kushner might also travel to other Middle East countries for talks with regional leaders involved in the Gaza issue.
Between the lines: The White House doesn't want the Israeli elections to stall the implementation of the next phase of the plan.
- At the same time, Netanyahu doesn't want to make concessions that could harm him politically. But he also doesn't want a confrontation with Trump ahead of the election.
- "The elections are making everyone hysterical," a U.S. official acknowledged.
What to watch: Kushner and Mladenov want to reach an understanding with Netanyahu about the way forward in Gaza over the next several months.
- "We are not rushing into anything here. We want to make sure all steps in Gaza are being done properly," another U.S. official said. "We think our plan is better than the alternative."
