Jared Kushner, President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law and close confidant, on Wednesday doubled his stake in an Israeli financial firm that stands to gain from turbocharging Israeli settlements in Palestine — just before the announcement of a cease-fire deal that Kushner may have helped advise on.
Now, amid the potential wind-down of Israel’s war in Gaza, Trump’s former top Middle East adviser and family member is poised to benefit from expanding settlement efforts in Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation, which are illegal under international law and are driving mounting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Already, in the hours following the cease-fire announcement, Trump announced his administration would lift sanctions brought by the Biden administration against violent Israeli settlers. According to the United Nations, settlers were responsible for more than one thousand attacks on Palestinians last year — the highest level of Israeli settler violence ever recorded.
On Wednesday, hours before the cease-fire deal was formally announced, Israeli regulators approved a deal that gave Kushner nearly 10 percent ownership in Phoenix Financial Ltd, a major Israeli finance and insurance firm, making him the company’s largest shareholder.
Affinity Partners, Kushner’s private equity firm that is backed by a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the source of several Senate investigations, first invested in Phoenix Financial back in July, acquiring a 4.95 percent stake in the company. At the time, Affinity proposed to double that share if regulators gave the green light. This week, they did.
“Investing in Phoenix in July 2024 was a decision rooted in my belief in Israel’s resiliency and the fundamentals of Phoenix’s business,” Kushner told Bloomberg News. “Six months later, the increased value of our shares reaffirms my conviction —…
Auteur: Freddy Brewster
