Kushner, Board of Peace officials to visit Israel and Egypt next week

Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior negotiator, is scheduled to travel to the Middle East next week to discuss a U.S.-backed cease-fire framework for Gaza. According to an official from the Board of Peace – the entity created by the administration to monitor the cease-fire – Kushner will be joined by board high representative Nickolay Mladenov and former British prime minister Tony Blair, with the delegation arriving in Israel on Sunday.

After meetings in Israel, the group will proceed to Cairo, where a Palestinian technocratic team that has been preparing to assume administrative control of Gaza under the proposed agreement will convene. The official, who requested anonymity because trip details remain unsettled, said the visits aim to demonstrate the Trump administration’s commitment to “see peace, prosperity and sustainable security emerge” in a demilitarized Gaza where Hamas would relinquish control to enable reconstruction.

Israeli leaders have publicly rejected the recent Trump-announced plan that called for Hamas to disarm and for Israeli forces to withdraw from the territory. While Hamas signaled willingness to decommission its weapons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel will not pull back its troops until Hamas is fully disarmed, highlighting a rare public disagreement with the administration’s proposal.