After war, Israel must ‘find a way to help’ Palestinians: US envoy Jared Kushner

WASHINGTON – Israel should help the Palestinians “thrive” if it seeks regional integration after the Gaza war is over, said US envoy Jared Kushner, who has been involved in mediation efforts for a ceasefire.

“The biggest message that we’ve tried to convey to the Israeli leadership now is that now that the war is over, if you want to integrate Israel with the broader Middle East, you have to find a way to help the Palestinian people thrive and do better,” Mr Kushner told CBS News in an interview that aired on Oct 19.

The interview preceded

fresh Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip

following Israel’s accusation that militant group Hamas had violated the truce by attacking troops.

Mr Kushner, who is also US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, helped broker landmark deals during his first term in office that saw several Arab governments normalise ties with Israel.

In the CBS interview, he said that the situation remained “very difficult”, but he was looking for a “joint security and economic opportunity” to guarantee that Israelis and Palestinians “can live peacefully side by side in a durable way”.

On Oct 20, Mr Kushner returned to Israel alongside Mr Trump’s special envoy to the Middle Steve Witkoff for a visit that is expected to see them meet Israeli government officials.

Referring to the situation in Gaza since the Oct 10 ceasefire began, Mr Kushner said: “Hamas right now is doing exactly what you would expect a terrorist organisation to do, which is to try to reconstitute and take back their positions.”

But he argued that if “a viable alternative” emerges, “Hamas will fail and Gaza will not be a threat to Israel in the future”.

When asked about the prospect of a Palestinian state – which most governments worldwide now recognise but Israel and the United States do not – Mr Kushner said it was “too early to tell”. AFP