Jared Kushner’s return for Gaza peace deal kindles hopes for Abraham Accords expansion

President Donald Trump’s negotiation of a peace plan to end the war in Gaza saw son-in-law Jared Kushner return to the political sphere and has kindled hopes for an expansion of the Abraham Accords in the aftermath of the conflict.

Kushner was a leading figure in arranging the Accords during Trump’s first term, securing a diplomatic rapprochement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. His role was somewhat behind the scenes during the negotiation of the peace agreement. However, his role did not go unnoticed and senior Trump administration officials have touted his efforts in bringing the agreement to fruition.

“I don't want to let this moment pass, Mr. President, with also noting the incredible work of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, they're an incredible team, working together, facing some substantial impediments to even being there this weekend and doing it,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a Thursday Cabinet meeting.

“Just leave it at that, and they've done a great job on your behalf, Mr. President. They deserve a tremendous amount of credit," Rubio said during the Cabinet meeting.”

Kushner's unexpected role

His appearance did come somewhat out of left field. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, notably declined to return to the White House in the second administration. Trump did appoint Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, to serve as ambassador to France.

Kushner’s last notable appearance in the news came as part of his organization’s partnership with a Saudi firm to purchase Electronic Arts, a video game company. The buyout was hailed by some gamers, many of whom suggested that the Saudi acquisition would lead to the publisher ending certain woke practices in its titles. At the same time, many gamers and the specialized media platforms raised concerns about the deal. 

"EA CEO Andrew Wilson has stated in an email statement to staff that the company’s 'values and [its] commitment to players and fans around the world remain unchanged,' according to Kotaku.com, who went on to editorialize that "considering that both the Saudi Arabian government and Jared Kushner, the owner of Affinity Partners and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, now own the publisher, that’s not exactly convincing."

Shortly after the purchase, however, Kushner appeared alongside Witkoff as part of a diplomatic trip to Egypt with reported plans to remain abroad until an agreement to release the hostages had been secured.

Deal defied expectations

Kushner and Witkoff first met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to secure his support for implementing the plan and subsequently met with the Israeli Cabinet to persuade them to accept the deal, Politico reported. Though outside analysts and diplomats were not surprised at their ultimate success, the speed with which Kushner and Witkoff secured a diplomatic breakthrough defied expectations, with one “person familiar with the talks” indicating an expectation that an agreement would have needed almost an additional week.

Some Trump loyalists pointed to the agreement’s foundation in the previous diplomatic agreements that Kushner brokered between Israel and other nations as a factor in Kushner and Witkoff’s success.

“This all came off of the archetype of the Abraham Accords, which is really much more about business and integration of the region, financially and economically and with a political surface to it,” former White House chief of staff Steve Bannon told Playbook.

“Jared has always been one of President Trump's key, if not his key adviser, on this whole thing forever, even though he wasn't actively involved,” he added. “Remember, Jared spends a lot of time in the region because he knows these guys are all investors with him. So I think that this is, and it's not surprising, he could step in. He's also very close to Witkoff.”

Kushner gets deal done speedily, but is on "standby"

Kushner reportedly does not plan to return to the White House as a full-time political advisor. Though his first-term efforts on the Abraham Accords earned broad acclaim, he occasionally attracted the ire of Trump’s MAGA base over more left-wing initiatives, such as the First Step Act and the sentencing reform measures that came with it.

In the meantime, Kushner is remaining in Israel to oversee the implementation of the agreement. He visited the Western Wall with his wife Ivanka on Friday, the Times of Israel reported.

Other U.S. officials have indicated that they see multiple stages at which the deal could come apart and Kushner appears ready to remain on standby in the event of a potential breakdown.

“There’s still, you know, just a lot of ways that this can go wrong,” a senior US official said Thursday, CNN reported. “So we’re staying on top of the details to make sure everyone fulfills their obligations and that any misunderstandings are quickly discussed and adjudicated, and we really want to make sure that we get to the withdrawal, we get to the cease fire, and then we get to a place where the hostages can return home, the exchange is done, and then we’ll go into the next phase, which is figuring out what comes next in Gaza.”

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.