Jared Kushner, former President Trump's son-in-law, said the Palestinian people's lives could be greatly improved if they focused on building "valuable" infrastructure instead of terrorist tunnels. (Fox News)
Kushner clarified and defended his comments on Tuesday after a wave of criticism accusing him of being callous toward the Palestinians' situation.
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"I expressed my dismay that the Palestinian people have watched their leaders squander decades of Western aid on tunnels and weapons rather than on improving their lives," he wrote.
"I stand by this and believe the Palestinian people’s lives will improve ONLY when the international community and their citizenry start demanding accountability from their leadership," he added.
A photo of the Port of Gaza during peacetime. Kushner encouraged Palestinians to develop "very valuable" property in the area. (Majdi Fathi/TPS)
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Kushner's comments come as Israel is poised to deal the final blow against Hamas in Gaza with an invasion of the border town of Rafah. President Biden's administration has pushed against those plans, however, saying the cost in civilian lives would be too great.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jared-kushner-defends-call-palestinians-build-waterfront-property-terror-tunnels-gaza