As violence breaks out, Kushner threatens to abandon Plan B for the Middle East: rebuilding Gaza

"Rather than looking for opportunities to arm everything from mirror kites to attack Israel, Hamas should focus its ingenuity on improving the Gaza economy," wrote Mr. Kushner, M. Greenblatt and M. Friedman in their article. , published last week

The White House, officials said, consults Egypt and Qatar, who act as mediators in Gaza, to try to avert a wider war. But the United States strongly supports Israel's right to defend itself. And the opinion pieces suggest that officials emphasize the fact of filing a complaint against Hamas.

In the article published on the CNN website, the four officials congratulated the UN General Assembly for approving a resolution condemning only Hamas. Israel for violence in Gaza (the United States got the support of an amendment that holds Hamas accountable for its role in inciting violence). They expressed the hope that the United Nations would show the same openness when deploying the peace plan.

Kushner and Mr. Greenblatt are still in favor of talks between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas that could lead to a government of unity in Gaza under the control of Palestinians in the West Bank. Hamas, they said, could take part in such a government, provided it agrees to abandon the violence, recognize Israel and conduct peaceful negotiations.

But the diplomats involved in previous negotiations – and also unsuccessful – trapped, since Hamas would never give up its weapons. And they warned that getting bogged down in Gaza could make it harder, not easier, to reach a broader deal. "19659002" "Not only is there no need to resolve Gaza first, but the interminable delay only makes it more difficult Rooting of the reality of a state on the ground in the West Bank," said Frank G. Lowenstein, who was special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at the end of the Obama administration.

Lowenstein's predecessor, Martin S. Indyk, said that the United States should play a role in alleviating suffering in Gaza. But he said that the lack of Palestinian unity would make a breakthrough as elusive as that of the West Bank.

"Eighteen months of effort has taken them to Gaza, but Gaza is a bunch of complexities," Indyk said. "The prospects for progress there are about as promising as the slim chances of" the agreement of the century "."