Jared Kushner, who advised his father-in-law, former President Trump, on Middle East issues, suggested last month that Gazans should be relocated to the Israeli desert so the Israeli military can complete its military operations against Hamas.
The question of how to protect Palestinian civilians from the next phase of Israel’s war in Gaza is at the heart of rising tensions with the United States. The US has warned Israel of an invasion of Rafah, where a Hamas battalion is believed to be hiding, and has not made any further evacuation plans. There are 1 million civilians there.
“So, if I were Israel, what I would do now is I would say, ‘First of all, you want to get as many civilians out of Rafah as possible.’ Kushner said during the conversation. Last month, I met with Professor Tarek Massoud of Harvard University’s Middle East Initiative (MEI) faculty.
“I think you want to eliminate that,” Kushner added. “I know that with diplomacy, maybe… we could get them to Egypt, and I know that was rejected, but… with the right diplomacy, I think it’s possible. But , and on top of that, what I would do if I were Israel right now is I would bulldoze something in the Negev and try to move people there.”
The Negev is a desert region in southern Israel.
Mr. Kushner met with Mr. Massoud on February 15th. The conversation was posted on YouTube on March 7th and reported as follows: guardian paper on tuesday.
Mr. Massoud asked Mr. Kushner about the idea of relocating Gazans to the Negev, asking, “Is that something you’re going to work on?”
“I’m sitting in Miami Beach right now. And I’m, you know, observing the situation and just thinking, what would I do if I were there?” Kushner responded.
Kushner also said that Gaza’s waterfront land “could become extremely valuable if people focused on building livelihoods rather than spending money on tunnels and munitions. ”, he said.
“So I think it’s a bit of an unfortunate situation,” he continued.
The former president’s son-in-law also expressed his opposition to a Palestinian state, believing that “affirmative recognition of a Palestinian state would essentially reward acts of terrorism.”
“So it’s a very bad idea in that respect,” Kushner said.
The Biden administration has said a two-state solution is the only long-term way to avoid regional crises and conflict. Biden also doubled down on his warning to Israel against the Rafakh invasion in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to send officials to discuss alternatives with the American side, but said on Tuesday that an invasion of the southern city was inevitable.
Mr. Kushner, who led Middle East policy in his father-in-law’s administration, said in October last year that he would support Mr. Trump again this year, citing his support for the region during his time as president.
In an interview with podcaster Rex Fridman, Kushner blamed Biden for the Gaza war.
“Under President Biden, this is the second war to break out in the world, and with weak leadership, the world will not be safe,” he said.
“My hope and prayer is that President Trump will be re-elected and can restore calm, peace and prosperity to the world.”
Kushner said he would decline Trump’s invitation to return to the White House if he is re-elected in November.
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