The Media Line: Kushner Plans Israel, Egypt Visit as US Seeks to Revive Stalled Gaza Plan  

Kushner Plans Israel, Egypt Visit as US Seeks to Revive Stalled Gaza Plan  

By The Media Line Staff  

Jared Kushner is planning to travel to Israel and Egypt with senior Board of Peace officials for talks aimed at advancing the stalled Gaza postwar plan following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public rejection of a US-backed proposal for Hamas disarmament and an Israeli military withdrawal.  

Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and US envoy, is expected to travel with Board of Peace high representative Nickolay Mladenov and executive board member Tony Blair, according to five sources with knowledge of the plans. The trip would be Kushner’s first visit to Israel since January.  

A US official told AFP that the visit remained “under discussion” and that its precise timing could change.  

“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,” the official said.  

The delegation is expected to hold meetings with Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, before traveling to Cairo for discussions with regional mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.  

President Trump announced two weeks ago that the Board of Peace had reached an agreement with Hamas under which the group would disarm and transfer civilian and security control of Gaza to a new Palestinian technocratic government.  

Netanyahu publicly rejected the plan for disarming Hamas on Sunday after facing pressure from coalition partners and political opponents.  

His statement followed a phone conversation with Kushner several days earlier in which Netanyahu promised to give the proposal a chance despite his skepticism, a US official said. Netanyahu also agreed to restrain attacks in Gaza to allow the demilitarization process to begin, according to the official.  

A senior US official said the White House viewed Netanyahu’s subsequent public remarks as related to election-season politics rather than necessarily representing a change in Israeli policy.  

“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.