U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner and Gaza Board of Peace CEO Nickolay Mladenov are planning to visit Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aimed at advancing President Donald Trump’s 15-point Gaza plan, Barak Ravid reported Thursday.
The two could arrive as early as next week, although an official familiar with the matter said the visit has not yet been finalized.
The planned talks come days after Netanyahu publicly rejected the 15-point document, declaring at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting that Israel would not accept the plan and that the IDF would not withdraw further until Hamas was disarmed.
“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said. “I heard people saying, ‘You didn’t say it.’ So here I am saying it again: Israel rejects the 15-point document. The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed.”
Senior officials in Trump’s Board of Peace quickly pushed back, telling ynet that they were judging Israel by its actions rather than its public declarations.
“We look at what is happening in practice, less at words and statements,” they said. “In practice, Israel stopped the assassinations and is maintaining the ceasefire.”
That assessment has become more complicated as Israeli strikes in Gaza continued for a third consecutive day.
The IDF said Thursday it had killed a Hamas company commander in Khan Younis who had been planning attacks. A separate strike in Gaza City reportedly killed Jamal Abu Kamil, the head of the Gaza district police, according to the enclave’s Interior Ministry.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: GPO)
Netanyahu, speaking during a security discussion amid the renewed strikes, said Israel’s rules of engagement in Gaza had not changed.
“The opening-fire orders in Gaza have not changed and will not change,” he said. “IDF soldiers have our full backing to eliminate any threat to them and to our citizens. That is the policy, and it is being implemented on the ground.”
An Israeli security official said Israel had informed the Americans that it would continue targeting Hamas members involved in the October 7 massacre as well as emerging threats, and said Washington accepts that approach.
At the same time, Jerusalem has decided to increase coordination with the U.S. command center in Kiryat Gat and has agreed to moderate military activity in the Gaza Strip.
If Kushner arrives, Gaza is unlikely to be the only issue on the agenda.
He is also expected to raise developments in the West Bank and growing U.S. concern over settler violence. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday condemned Jewish rioters who surrounded a Palestinian family in the village of Qusra, calling those responsible “Israeli terrorists.”
Kushner’s possible return to Israel also coincides with the sixth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, an achievement closely associated with his work during Trump’s first administration.
Signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House
(Photo: AFP)
“Six years ago, President Trump launched the Abraham Accords and opened a new chapter of peace, partnership and prosperity in the Middle East,” Kushner wrote on X. “Many said it was unimaginable. But through bold leadership, persistence and a small group of people willing to challenge old assumptions, we proved that the impossible could be achieved.”
He said the region was once again at a turning point.
“The Middle East once again stands at an inflection point,” Kushner wrote. “There are breakthrough opportunities today that many will argue are impossible. But we have seen what happens when leaders reject conventional thinking, focus on shared interests and move boldly toward a better future.”
“We surprised the world once,” he added. “With the right leadership, focus, patience and courage, I believe we can do it again.”
President Isaac Herzog responded that the anniversary marked an important milestone for regional peace and argued that the accords should serve as a foundation for further normalization.
“This is also a moment to look ahead and chart the path forward together,” Herzog wrote. “I wholeheartedly believe this is only the beginning. Now is the time for all of us to act to expand this circle of peace across the Middle East, for the benefit of all the peoples of the region.”