Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and unelected Middle East envoy, may head to Israel and Egypt next week to salvage a Gaza peace plan that Israel's own prime minister has already rejected — all while American taxpayers keep bankrolling the region's endless conflicts.
The trip, first reported by Axios and confirmed as under discussion by a U.S. official responding to AFP, comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly defies Trump's latest ceasefire framework ahead of October elections. It also coincides with Kushner's public campaign to expand the Abraham Accords — the normalization deals that opened new trade and security ties, and new questions about who profits when shadow diplomats cut deals abroad.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that "such a trip is being discussed" and insisted "the United States and Israel agree on the desired outcome in Gaza." But the evidence says otherwise. Netanyahu explicitly stated Sunday he opposes Trump's plan, which calls for Israel to begin pulling back forces in tandem with Hamas disarmament. He vowed no Israeli pullout — even after Trump's Board of Peace assured him Israel would not have to withdraw until Hamas disarmed completely. Netanyahu is running even or trailing in some polls ahead of Israel's October 27 elections, the country's first since the 2023 Hamas attack. His defiance looks less like strategy and more like campaign positioning.
Meanwhile, Kushner took to X to mark the sixth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, declaring the Middle East is once again at an "inflection point" and arguing the region can "do it again." He credited a "small group of people willing to challenge old assumptions" and said the accords produced "billions in trade, joint innovation, new friendships and partnerships." Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded, crediting Trump's team and calling to "expand this circle of peace across the Middle East." Trump himself has pushed for expansion, telling Breitbart at the G7 in June that he expected additional countries to join and noting that no nation had dropped out even during the conflict with Iran.
Breitbart framed Kushner's remarks as a forward-looking celebration of diplomatic breakthrough; Al-Monitor framed the prospective trip as damage control after Netanyahu's very public rejection of the U.S. plan. What neither outlet asked: what do these deals cost, and who cashes in?
Kushner, who leveraged his White House role into a $2 billion sovereign wealth fund deal with Saudi Arabia after leaving office, has never been shy about mixing diplomacy and personal profit. The Abraham Accords he champions opened trade corridors and security partnerships — and they also opened doors for the people who brokered them. Every new Middle East commitment is a request to spend American money and project American power. Americans deserve to know the price tag before the plane leaves the tarmac.
The Gaza plan under dispute is the latest stage of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced in October that has reduced, but not ended, Israeli operations. A U.S. official says the two countries "share many other areas of agreement and mutual concerns that we will work through together." That's diplomatic speak for: we don't agree, but we'll keep talking.
The question isn't whether Kushner can broker another handshake. It's whether any of these arrangements serve the interests of ordinary Americans — or just the interests of the leaders posing for photos and the well-connected few who get paid to manage the fallout.
