Jared Kushner is set to travel to Israel next week to coordinate the White House’s Gaza transition plan with Prime Minister Netanyahu, sources tell Axios.
US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is preparing to travel to Israel next week to conduct discussions regarding the situation in Gaza, five sources familiar with the trip confirmed to Axios on Thursday.
The visit marks Kushner’s first diplomatic mission to Israel since January and comes as the administration and Trump’s Board of Peace work to push forward the next stage of their Gaza strategy, which centers on demilitarizing Hamas and managing a potential Israeli military withdrawal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government remains deeply skeptical of the US proposal.
“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 US official explained to Axios, adding that specific travel dates remain flexible.
The diplomatic push follows an announcement made by Trump two weeks ago stating that his Board of Peace had negotiated an arrangement with Hamas to lay down weapons and transfer security and civil authority in Gaza to a newly formed Palestinian technocratic government.
Netanyahu publicly disavowed the demilitarization framework on Sunday. That public rejection followed a phone discussion with Kushner days earlier in which Netanyahu pledged to give the strategy a chance despite his reservations and committed to limiting military strikes in Gaza to allow the disarming process to commence, according to a US official.
Administration officials view Netanyahu’s public pushback primarily as domestic campaign maneuvers rather than a definitive policy shift.
“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,” a senior US official remarked to Axios.
Following those exchanges, the IDF significantly scaled back strikes in Gaza and pulled forces back to the designated “Yellow Line” specified under the agreement.
Kushner is expected to make the journey alongside Nickolay Mladenov, the appointed “high representative” for the Gaza Board of Peace, to meet directly with Netanyahu and senior Israeli leadership. Kushner may also conduct stops in additional Middle Eastern nations to confer with regional leaders involved in the enclave’s future.
Behind the scenes, Washington is eager to ensure Israel’s election season does not delay progress on the next phase of the roadmap. Concurrently, Netanyahu seeks to avoid political vulnerabilities while avoiding a direct breach with Trump before voters head to the polls.
“The elections are making everyone hysterical,” a US official noted regarding the political environment.
The main objective for Kushner and Mladenov is securing an operational agreement with Netanyahu on managing the enclave over the coming months.
“We are not rushing into anything here. We want to make sure all steps in Gaza are being done properly,” another US official stated, emphasizing, “We think our plan is better than the alternative.”
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