Henry Bodkin Jerusalem Correspondent

Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will help run Gaza, Western officials have said.

The negotiators, who both played key roles in securing the ceasefire, will be involved in the practical rebuilding of the war-torn Strip, under US plans to be announced this month.

This is despite both also being centrally involved in US efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

According to briefings from Western officials to media in the US and Israel, Mr Kushner and Mr Witkoff will join Sir Tony Blair on Gaza’s executive board, which will sit under the board of peace, chaired by Mr Trump.

The formula, which now has UN backing, was largely devised over the summer by Mr Kushner and Sir Tony.

The pair have been close ever since the former British prime minister helped Mr Kushner achieve the Abraham Accords agreement between Israel, the UAE and others in Mr Trump’s first term.

The executive management board will oversee a committee of 12 to 15 Palestinian technocrats with no links to Hamas or Fatah.

The board of peace, the body with ultimate authority, will comprise heads of Arab and European countries, such as Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

It is expected that Mr Trump will announce the details of phase 2 – the establishment of government and security mechanisms in a post-Hamas Gaza – including the names on the various governing bodies, before Christmas.

Hamas disarmament a sticking point

However, although Hamas has indicated it might hand over power to a Palestinian government of Gaza, it still refuses to disarm, a key demand of Israel, which says it will not withdraw from Gaza until this happens.

A Western official told Axios: “All of the different elements are pretty well-advanced. It’s all moving ahead, and the aim is to announce it before people break for the holidays.

“The big question is: will Hamas agree to disarm and allow the new government to take power and govern the place? They can’t be in government directly or indirectly through their weapons. The moment of truth will come in the next few weeks.”

Mr Kushner, who holds no formal US government position in the current administration, has made a fortune from business interests in the Middle East since serving as a senior advisor to the US president during his first term.

The 44-year-old is currently leading efforts to plan so-called “alternative safe communities”.

The concept involves building temporary but functional small villages in what is now the “green zone”, the IDF-controlled east and south of Gaza, in the hope that it will tempt Palestinians to leave the Hamas-controlled west.

Negotiators are currently trying to nail down a remit for an international stabilisation force of foreign troops, and establish which countries will contribute.

Indonesia and Azerbaijan have indicated they will send soldiers.

It has been reported that some potential contributors are holding out for Turkish involvement in the force in the belief that Hamas would not dare fire on them.

However, Israel, which accuses Turkey of supporting the terror group, has ruled that out.

Mr Kushner’s plans for post-war Gaza appear to be focused mainly on redeveloping the green zone, where virtually no Gazans live.

A European official involved in the process told The Telegraph: “It’s all directed at the green zone at the moment. No one knows how they’re going to dislodge Hamas.”

Israeli officials are publicly supportive of the 20-point peace plan but privately believe that the IDF will have to return to war in 2026 to finally defeat Hamas.

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However, doing so, even with US approval, risks collapsing the Arab and Muslim support for the process if, as is likely, large numbers of Palestinian civilians die in the process.

Approximately 360 Gazans are believed to have died due to Israeli strikes since the ceasefire came into force on Oct 11, and a number of IDF troops have also been killed.