Kushner to Visit Israel After Netanyahu Rejects Gaza Peace Plan

Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, will travel to Israel and Egypt next week to push for a permanent US-backed peace plan for the Gaza Strip, a Peace Council official confirmed to Al Jazeera.

The visit comes shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a 15-point plan proposed by Trump aimed at achieving lasting peace in the Palestinian territory. Netanyahu specifically opposed the clause requiring Hamas to gradually disarm and hand over weapons to a third party—Palestine—while Israel simultaneously withdraws troops from Gaza. Hamas had earlier announced its agreement to the preliminary deal and reaffirmed its commitment after Israel's rejection.

The Peace Council official, whose body was established under the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in late 2025, said Kushner will be accompanied by council Director-General Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian minister, and board member Tony Blair, former UK prime minister. The trio will “listen to the concerns raised and discuss next steps.”

“It is important that both sides agree on the desired outcome and are seeking to accelerate progress,” the official said, stressing that the Peace Council and Israel “are aligned on the end state, which is a demilitarized Hamas.” In Cairo, Kushner, Mladenov, and Blair will meet Egyptian mediators and other parties to consolidate the roadmap.

Continued ceasefire violations

Hamas’s acceptance of the preliminary disarmament deal is seen as a major breakthrough, though implementation details remain undefined. Under the 20-point ceasefire plan signed last year, both sides were to halt fighting to facilitate the demilitarization of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, while Israel withdrew its forces. Subsequently, Hamas was to hand over power to a technocratic Palestinian government, deploy an international stabilization force, and begin a major reconstruction program.

However, violations from Israel are recorded almost daily, with at least 1,260 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect. In total, 73,389 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has simultaneously expanded its control, occupying roughly 70% of the territory.

Rising settler violence

Kushner’s visit comes amid escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, which rights groups say is aided by the Israeli military. A notable case is the blockade of the village of Qusra in Nablus, where residents have had water and electricity cut off in an effort to seize land.

This situation prompted a rare condemnation from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. In a post on X, he called the targeting of a Palestinian-American citizen’s home in Qusra a “disgusting act of terrorism” and “inexcusable thuggery.” He said the US Embassy has asked the Israeli military and police to dismantle the “Israeli terrorist” group.

Despite this, Huckabee remains a staunch supporter of Israel and West Bank settlements, which are considered illegal under international law. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded 3,033 settler attacks in the West Bank from January 2025 to June 2026, averaging about six per day. Israeli forces and settlers have killed 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, in the occupied territory since the start of 2026, according to the UN.