Trump son-in-law suggests Israel move Palestinians from 'valuable' Gaza land
Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Israel-Hamas war for Wednesday, March. 20. For the latest news on the conflict in the Middle East, view our live updates file on the war for Thursday, March 21.
Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East adviser, is standing by statements he recently posted on social media that included lauding Gaza’s valuable “waterfront property” and suggesting Israel move civilians out while it “cleans up” the area.
“Gaza’s waterfront property, it could be very valuable if people would focus on building up livelihoods,” Kushner, who has a background in real estate, said in a February interview for Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. But he said the Palestinian focus instead had been on building tunnels and amassing munitions.
Kushner also said he believes Israel could move civilians from the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah to the Negev desert in southern Israel so Israeli troops can "finish the job" of destroying Hamas. He acknowledged that, if Palestinians were removed from Gaza, Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu might not allow them to return. But he added that he was "not sure there's much left of Gaza."
Some far-right Israeli politcians have advocated for the mass relocation of Palestinians outside of Gaza, battered by more than five months of war, to make way for Israeli settlers. That call has drawn outrage from most of the Arab world.
In a post Tuesday, Kushner said he stands by his comments in February, which "expressed my dismay that the Palestinian people have watched their leaders squander decades of Western aid on tunnels and weapons." He said Palestinians must demand accountability from their leadership.
Aid restrictions: Israel allowing few aid convoys into Gaza this month, UN says
Developments:
? Kushner said Israel has worked hard to minimize civilian casualties. And he said he would oppose recognizing a Palestinian state now as part of a peace plan, saying it would "essentially be rewarding an act of terror."
? Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel on Friday as part of his sixth trip to the Middle East since the war began, the State Department said. His latest tour of the region began Wednesday in Saudi Arabia and will include a stop in Egypt on Thursday, where he will meet with foreign ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, as well as a top Palestinian official, Reuters reported.
? Videos on social media showed anti-Netanyahu protesters chained together outside the Knesset being dragged away by police. The protesters were demanding elections be held. Netanyahu, whose popularity cratered after the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7, has said elections now would distract from the war effort.
? The Aish HaTorah organization is holding a unity and prayer event for hostage families and supporters Thursday at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The group is urging supporters around the world to join in prayer at 4:30 p.m. local time, 10:30 ET.
? Twelve people were arrested Tuesday night after Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg tried to clear City Council chambers amid outbursts during a debate over his Gaza cease-fire resolution, police said. The resolution, opposed by some Jewish community leaders, was passed.
Palestinians treated for serious ailments getting sent back to Gaza
At least 22 Palestinian patients who have dealt with serious medical conditions ? including babies, new mothers and some diagnosed with cancer ? will be sent back to Gaza by Thursday after being treated in Israeli facilities, an Israeli advocacy group says.
“Returning residents to Gaza during a military conflict and a humanitarian crisis is against international law and poses a deliberate risk to innocent lives,” Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said. “All the more so when it concerns patients who may face a death sentence due to insanitary conditions and hunger, along with the unlikely availability of medical care.”
COGAT, the Israeli defense agency responsible for Palestinian civilians, said in a statement that Gaza residents who don't need treatment will be returned to the enclave and those who do require it will remain in Israeli medical facilities.
Before the war, Palestinians who needed care not available in Gaza were allowed to receive it in Israel, but that essentially ended once hostilities began with the Oct. 7 attacks.
House speaker may invite Netanyahu to address Congress
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is considering inviting Netanyahu to address Congress after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., delivered a scathing speech criticizing Netanyahu last week.
“It’s one of the things that we have in mind and we may try to arrange for that,” Johnson said Wednesday. “I think it’s very important for us to show solidarity and support with Israel right now in their time of great struggle and we certainly stand for that position and we’ll try to advance that in any way we can.
Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish U.S. official, blasted Netanyahu last week on the Senate floor, calling for Israelis to hold new elections to replace Netanyahu, saying the prime minister “no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7” and is “an obstacle to peace.”
? Ken Tran
Houthi attacks blamed for impending layoffs at Israeli port
Dockworkers at Israel's Eilat Port staged a protest Wednesday after the Histadrut labor federation revealed that about half the 120 employees face layoffs because of attacks targeting Red Sea shipping. The port was among the first to be affected when shippers began rerouting ships from the area to avoid the attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels. Eilat Port officials told Reuters three months ago the port had seen an 85% drop in activity since the attacks began in November, so far targeting more than 40 ships. The Houthis say they are conducting the attacks to punish Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israelis kill more members of Hamas leadership in Rafah
Three senior members of the Hamas emergency committees in the Rafah area were killed in an airstrike, the Israeli military announced Wednesday. The men were emissaries of the Hamas leadership in Rafah, helped the militant group's military wing establish control and were responsible for terrorist activities of the "organization's operatives in the field," Israel said.
Netanyahu has said Israel will soon conduct a ground invasion to eliminate Hamas from the Rafah area. The Biden administration says there are other ways to destroy Hamas in the city, crowded with more than 1 million residents and refugees from elsewhere in the battered enclave.
Emergency committees are used by Hamas to maintain public order in Gaza municipalities. Sayyid Qutb Hashash and Osama Hamad Dhahir were the heads of Hamas’s emergency committee in north and east Rafah areas. Hadi Abu al-Rous was the operations officer of the emergency committee. Another leading militant, Muhammad Awad al-Malalhi, was apparently wounded, the military said. The head of the local emergency committee, Nidal al-Eid, was assassinated last week.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel war live updates: Kushner suggests Israel move Palestinians
