President Trump huddled with son-in-law Jared Kushner and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair Wednesday for a meeting centered on the war in Gaza.
All aspects of the 22-month-long conflict in Gaza were discussed during the meeting, including the hostage crisis, humanitarian aid for Palestinians and post-war plans for the strip of land in the Middle East, according to a White House official.
The official described the gathering as “simply a policy meeting.”
Kushner, the husband of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, served as the president’s top Middle East envoy during his first term.
His work implementing a series of groundbreaking normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations – known as the Abraham Accords – is regarded as one of Trump’s most significant foreign-policy achievements during his first term, and it earned Kushner a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
Blair, who served as prime minister for a decade, has long been steeped in issues relating to Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza and the West Bank.
He’s viewed as a consistent supporter of Israel and has been a strong advocate for a two-state solution.
Blair’s think tank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, has commissioned multiple polls since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that found an overwhelming majority of Palestinians in Gaza reject the terror group running the strip but want to govern Gaza independently from Israel.
The polling “underlines the urgency of establishing a new reality for Gaza, and of providing Palestinians with a better future with ultimate agency to govern themselves, free from interference from Israel, and one that forges a path ultimately towards a two-state solution,” Blair’s group argued in May.
The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for details about what was discussed during the meeting.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants the war to end, and he wants peace and prosperity for everyone in the region,” a second White House official told Reuters. “The White House has nothing additional to share on the meeting at this time.”
Special envoy Steve Witkoff previewed the meeting on Tuesday and said it was part of the Trump administration’s effort to put together “a very comprehensive plan” for “the next day” in Gaza.
“Many people are going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives,” Witkoff told Fox News “Special Report” host Bret Baier.
Trump has previously floated turning the 25-mile-long Gaza Strip into a “freedom zone,” and he has also suggested that the US should be allowed to “take over the Gaza Strip” and develop the coastal land into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” which would require the relocation of millions of Palestinians at least temporarily.
With Post wires.
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