Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, in Jerusalem in November last year. [EPA]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, in Jerusalem in November last year. [EPA]

Jared Kushner, a special envoy and son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, is set to visit Israel next week to discuss the Gaza situation, Axios reported Thursday.

The visit will be Kushner's first trip to Israel since January, and comes as Trump's Board of Peace pushes a mediation proposal centered on Hamas disarmament and an Israeli military withdrawal.

Kushner will travel to Israel alongside Nikolai Mladenov, who was appointed as a senior representative of the Gaza Board of Peace, and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials.

Kushner may also visit other Middle Eastern countries and meet with regional leaders, Axios said.

"We are aligned on the strategic objectives, but we want to talk to the Israelis to make sure we are properly coordinated, as Israel has expressed some reservations about the plan," a US official said. However, the official added that the specific dates of the visit are subject to change.

Trump announced on July 30 that the Board of Peace and Hamas had reached an agreement on "Hamas disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal" from Gaza.

Netanyahu publicly pushed back against Trump, however, saying Israel would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas was fully disarmed.

Netanyahu remains deeply skeptical of the US Gaza proposal, and the issue is becoming increasingly politically sensitive ahead of Israel's general election in October, Axios reported.

A US official said Netanyahu had pledged to hold back attacks on Gaza to allow the Hamas disarmament process to begin.

"We understand Bibi's political needs," another senior US official said. "As long as he continues to follow through on what we've asked — particularly refraining from attacking Gaza — we don't have a problem."

"We are not going to rush this," yet another US official told Axios. "We want to make sure everything is done properly in Gaza."


mokiya@heraldcorp.com