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US Special Envoyand son-in-law of US President Donald Trump Jared Kushner on Sunday said Israel's upcoming Knesset election was contributing to what he described as a little irrational approach by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government towards the situation in Gaza, as Washington continues efforts to advance a plan for disarming Hamas and other armed groups in the enclave.
Kushner made the remarks while speaking alongside fellow US envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference in Kyiv following talks focused on efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Turning to the situation in Gaza, Kushner said Washington and Israel broadly agree on the desired outcome but suggested domestic political considerations were complicating the issue ahead of Israel's October 27 Knesset election. "We're working through some political issues in Israel. I think we agree with them on the end state. They just have a crazy election, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards," Kushner said. His comments came as Israel has opposed the Board of Peace's proposal for the decommissioning of weapons held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, an element of a broader plan that would also involve an Israeli withdrawal from the territory. The US has been seeking to move the proposal forward, but Israeli opposition has contributed to a stall in the process. Kushner, who has been involved in US diplomatic efforts concerning Gaza, offered a bleak assessment of conditions in the enclave. "Gaza has not worked for a very, very long time. It was basically built by NGOs and terrorists, and it's been a dystopian place for a long time," he said. The remarks came against the backdrop of continued Israeli strikes on Gaza and disagreements over the proposed post-war arrangements, particularly the question of Hamas' weapons and the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal. The Board of Peace plan seeks to pair the decommissioning of Hamas and other armed groups with an Israeli withdrawal, but the proposal has encountered political obstacles as Israel weighs the security implications of any such arrangement. Kushner's comments on Gaza were made during a Kyiv visit primarily focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He and Witkoff met Zelenskyy after holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as part of Washington's diplomatic push to advance a peace proposal for the war. US President Donald Trump had confirmed on Friday that the two envoys would travel to Moscow and Kyiv as part of the effort. During the Kyiv discussions, Zelenskyy said the territorial issue remained relevant to efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, while Witkoff said Washington was seeking a diplomatic rather than military resolution. (ANI)
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