Trump's Son-In-Law Jared Kushner To Help Run Gaza With Ex-UK PM Tony Blair: Report

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and former White House adviser, and Steve Witkoff, US Middle East envoy, will help oversee post-war Gaza, officials have confirmed. Both men helped negotiate the recent ceasefire and will now move into key roles in rebuilding the territory.

Under the US plan, which Trump is expected to announce before Christmas, Kushner and Witkoff will join former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on an executive board that will manage Gaza's reconstruction, The Telegraph reports. This board will report to a “board of peace,” chaired by Trump and comprising Arab and European leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The US, the UN, and several Western governments now back a governance model designed by Kushner and Blair earlier this year. It proposes that 12 to 15 Palestinian technocrats with no ties to Hamas or Fatah run day-to-day administration, under the supervision of the executive board.

The biggest challenge remains Hamas's refusal to give up its weapons. Israel says it will not withdraw its forces from Gaza until Hamas disarms.

“All of the different elements are pretty well-advanced… The big question is: will Hamas agree to disarm and allow the new government to take power?” a Western official told Axios.

Kushner is also promoting “alternative safe communities”, small, temporary villages inside Gaza's IDF-controlled eastern and southern “green zone.” The plan aims to encourage civilians to relocate away from Hamas-controlled areas in the west.

At the same time, negotiators are trying to form an international stabilisation force. Indonesia and Azerbaijan have shown interest in sending troops. Some countries want Turkey involved, but Israel has rejected this, accusing Ankara of supporting Hamas.

A European official said, “It's all directed at the green zone at the moment. No one knows how they're going to dislodge Hamas.”

Kushner met Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem last month to discuss the shaky ceasefire. Over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed during more than two years of Israeli bombardment, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Israel says any future Gaza government must exclude Hamas. Hamas says it will not hand over its weapons.

Netanyahu told the Knesset that Gaza would be “demilitarised, either the easy way or the hard way.”