Jared Kushner, a key negotiator in the Israel-Hamas peace deal, said in an exclusive “60 Minutes” interview that he expects the terrorist organization to employ violent tactics in an effort to reassert its power in Gaza.
“Hamas right now is doing exactly what you would expect a terrorist organization to do, which is to try to reconstitute and take back their positions,” Kushner told “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl.
The interview took place just days before the U.S. warned that Hamas may be planning an attack on Palestinian civilians. Israeli forces and Hamas also clashed over the weekend, with an Israeli military official saying the country struck targets in southern Gaza after Hamas shot at Israeli soldiers — marking a test of the ceasefire.
Kushner, who is President Trump’s son-in-law and helped secure the president’s peace deal, said the success or failure of the 20-point peace plan will depend on whether Israel and the international partners involved can create “a viable alternative.”
“If they are successful, Hamas will fail, and Gaza will not be a threat to Israel in the future,” Kushner said.
The U.S. peace deal, still in its first phase, saw Hamas release 20 living hostages, and so far return the bodies of at least 10 confirmed deceased hostages.
It eventually calls for an interim governing body to run Gaza made up of “qualified Palestinians and international experts,” and overseen by a “Board of Peace” chaired by Mr. Trump, but that has yet to be established.
The expected rebuilding and post-war governance in Gaza could be derailed by violence in the decimated strip. Video obtained by CBS News this week showed Hamas fighters executing Palestinians they accused of being gang members collaborating with Israel.
Hamas has been working to use its weapons to reestablish itself as the entity that is governing Gaza. The U.S. said in a statement Saturday that attacks against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement.
An extended version of Stahl’s interview with Kushner and Steve Witkoff will be available Sunday night on 60 MINUTES Overtime and youtube.com/60minutes.
