Kushner: Israel Agrees on Gaza Post-War Plan, Elections Cause Irrationality

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner stated Sunday that while Washington and Jerusalem agree on the post-war plan for Gaza, "crazy elections" in Israel are causing the government to act irrationally. Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, made these remarks during a press conference in Kyiv following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During his Middle East tour last month, Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UN official Nikolay Mladenov. An Israeli source told Kan News that the Americans accepted Israel's security red lines for Gaza. These include no Israeli withdrawal from the "yellow line" without Gaza's disarmament, maintaining freedom of operation to neutralize immediate threats, and complete demilitarization, especially of heavy weaponry, as a condition for Gaza's reconstruction.

During Kushner's visit, an Israeli source told CNN that Kushner urged Netanyahu not to obstruct the U.S. plan for the Strip. Netanyahu reportedly described progress on the plan as "problematic" due to the upcoming Israeli elections. Sky News reported that the meeting focused on the disarmament of Hamas under U.S. supervision. Netanyahu also expressed opposition to withdrawing from the "yellow line" at this time and wished to maintain military freedom of action against Hamas.

In a related development, Israel apprehended a senior Hamas internal security official in Gaza during a ground operation.