Today, 10:34 am
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and top White House advisor Jared Kushner land in Israel, the US Embassy tells The Times of Israel.
Their visit is part of a concerted US push to keep the fledgling ceasefire in Gaza from fraying further, a day after two IDF troops were killed in a Hamas attack and Israel responded with airstrikes across the Strip.
US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, on Saturday said he visited Gaza alongside Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, “to verify Israel’s compliance with Phase I of the [Gaza ceasefire] agreement”.
Witkoff, in a statement, said that he was also accompanied by CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office publishes photos of the premier alongside US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as they participate in the full cabinet meeting where ministers are due to vote on the first phase of Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
As chair of the “transitional” body, Trump would oversee the framework and funding for redevelopment of the Gaza Strip until a time when the Palestinian Authority, the governing body in the West Bank, has met conditions to assume governance in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military would slowly scale back its presence.
“This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment,” according to the plan.
The draft for the so-called Gaza International Transitional Authority (Gita) puts substantial flesh on reporting of the ideas that Blair and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are reported to have been circulating, including that Blair “wants” the role of running Gaza.
Palestinian critics who have seen the proposal – and who have long viewed Blair with suspicion – warned that Gita would be a “disaster” for Palestine, creating an alternative jurisdiction in Gaza to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Citing Puck, The Times of Israel reported that Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, helped prepare the shock remarks the president made on Tuesday night during his press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Kushner, who has a long history of friendship with Netanyahu, served as an advisor to President Trump during his first term in office and was involved in negotiating the Abraham Accords, the deals that sought Israel’s regional integration without settling the issue of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
(August 11, 2023)
During his tenure in the Trump administration, Kushner was tasked with managing Middle East policy, resulting in him building a relationship with Saudi Arabia‘s Crown Prince and leading efforts to create the Abraham Accords, which established Israel‘s diplomatic relations initially with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, and later with Morocco and Sudan.
(August 11, 2023)
“I’ve been vocal that I think that what Kushner did crossed the line of ethics,” Comer said on CNN when asked to respond to Christie’s claim. “What Christie said — it happened after he left office. Still no excuse, Jake, but it happened after he left office.
Kushner hopes to mend the divide between Qatar and other Gulf nations, according to the Journal, which noted that his visit follows U.S.-brokered pacts between Israel and Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. White House aide Avi Berkowitz, who was heavily involved in brokering the earlier deals, will accompany Kushner, the newspaper reported, adding that the negotiations will primarily involve Saudi-Qatari relations.
White House adviser Jared Kushner will travel to Qatar and Saudi Arabia this week, seeking to broker more diplomatic pacts in the Middle East in the Trump administration’s final days, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Gantz is also expected to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other Pentagon officials in Washington on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
Gantz is also set to discuss international policy vis-à-vis Iran and strategy for stopping its expansion and entrenchment in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also attended part of the meeting with the visiting Kushner.
„The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were clear about their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution,” the spokesman said.
The first official flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) landed Monday in Abu Dhabi, carrying an Israeli-American delegation to advance the landmark peace agreement between the two Middle Eastern states.
Leading the historic occasion, special White House advisor Jared Kushner addressed reporters at the airport promptly after landing, as Arab media televised the event under the title “Message of Peace.”
Kushner, O’Brien, US Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz and US Iran envoy Brian Hook, together with an Israeli delegation led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, are set to take the first-ever direct flight from Israel to the UAE on Monday, on an El Al plane bearing the word “peace” in Arabic, Hebrew and English in honor of the historic moment.
(13.08.2020)
According to Israeli media, the US president will be joined by senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, the architect of the US Middle East peace plan; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; National Security Adviser Richard O’Brien; lead negotiator Avi Berkowitz; and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who will reportedly fly back to Washington on Sunday following tête-à-têtes with Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz.
According to Channel 13, participants at the meetings on Monday and Tuesday will include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser Richard O’Brien, Avi Berkowitz, Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations and Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, in addition to the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who will fly in from Jerusalem.
In a decision that could have momentous implications for the Middle East, the Israeli Supreme Court has rejected petitions from several Israeli advocacy groups that challenged the legality of the agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, to form a National Unity government.
(today)
The task force is also expected to include acting chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Tom Philipson and White House advisers Larry Kudlow, Peter Navarro, Chris Liddell, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
(02.04.2020)
Bennett then asked what Kushner‘s „role“ and „qualifications“ are for the alleged role — which was the subject of a Washington Post story last month.
Kushner calmly rebuffed his question and implicitly expressed doubt about the veracity of his sources.
„If some people are talking to you, that means they‘re probably not informed as to what is going on,“ the former New Jersey real estate developer and investor said.
A group of Senate Democrats want a federal watchdog to investigate the decision to change an online description of the country‘s Strategic National Stockpile following a press briefing with White House adviser Jared Kushner.
The website of the Strategic National Stockpile was edited on Friday to soften language about how the stockpile is supposed to be used by states — a day after media outlets reported that the original version contradicted a claim by senior White House official Jared Kushner.
Kushner, the president‘s son-in-law who doesn‘t often make public appearances, says he has been serving on the coronavirus task force at the direction of Vice President Mike Pence.
When asked about data showing states‘ need for equipment, Kushner said, „The notion of the federal stockpile is that it‘s supposed to be our stockpile. It‘s not supposed to be states‘ stockpiles that they then use.“
Es besteht eine echte Gefahr für außenpolitische Berater und Analysten – und insbesondere für diejenigen, denen sie dienen -, wenn sie sich in einer Blase, einem Echoraum, befinden und alle ihre Schlussfolgerungen auf fehlerhaften Eingaben beruhen. Es ist natürlich noch schlimmer, wenn sie glauben, sie könnten ihre eigene Realität schaffen und Ergebnisse erfinden, die Hand und Fuß haben.
Unter diesen Umständen laufen die Dinge selten wie geplant.
President Trump has argued that prohibiting funds for military action against Iran actually makes war more likely, as he would be restricted from the kinds of military-strikes-short-of-war like his attack on Syria after the alleged chemical attack in Douma in 2018 (claims which have recently fallen apart). The logic is faulty and reflects again the danger of believing one’s own propaganda.
Donald Trump cannot be trusted to define antisemitism for Jews. He incites deadly white nationalist violence against our communities. He calls us disloyal. When speaking to American Jews, he refers to Israel as “your country” because he believes we do not really belong here. Conflating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism is actually antisemitic because it implies that all Jews agree with, and are responsible for, Israel’s actions.
This order will not protect our communities from Trump’s white nationalism or the violent threats we face. It will be used to target and silence human rights advocates and, in particular, Palestinian and Muslim college students.
American Jews will not allow Trump to speak for or silence us.
“Trump’s executive order is not about keeping Jews safe. After a week in which he spewed classic antisemtiic tropes about Jews and money, this is just more anti-Semitism,” wrote Emily Mayer, the political director of the Jewish advocacy group IfNotNow, in a statement. “The order’s move to define Judaism as a ‘nationality’ promotes the classically bigoted idea that American Jews are not American.”
Jared Kushner, the President‘s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, pushed for the move, according to the Times.
The definition of anti-Semitism will be adopted from the State Department, whose definition was originally formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the senior administration officials said.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner met Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White party, for the first time on Monday in Jerusalem.
Why it matters: This was the first meeting between Kushner and Gantz, who has 23 days to form a government. It shows that the Trump administration is adapting to the new political reality in Israel.