Nearly a year after Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh opened a "quiet" direct channel with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner on the potential role of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza's postwar governance, the back channel has yet to deliver a political breakthrough for the PA. Yet, Ramallah appears unwilling to abandon one of its few remaining lines of communication with the Trump administration.

The line to Kushner came into sharper focus on Aug. 22, when at a briefing in Ramallah Sheikh revealed to Palestinian journalists that the PA had been engaged in "a quiet Palestinian-American dialogue that has been ongoing for about a year, which includes discussions about a memorandum of understanding and a political vision for the next phase."

He said that he is "in constant contact with Jared Kushner, expecting that the Palestinian-American dialogues in the coming months will lead to the formulation of a vision for a political horizon." 

The PA is seeking to use its renewed contact with the Trump administration to secure US backing for a clearer political pathway toward Palestinian statehood and to ensure a role for the PA in Gaza's governance. The engagement marks a significant shift from Trump’s first term (2017–21), when relations with the PA deteriorated after Washington recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, closed the Palestine Liberation Organization’s mission in Washington and cut US economic assistance to the Palestinians. The Sheikh-Kushner channel has since emerged as part of the Trump administration's apparent effort to obtain the PA’s cooperation in advancing its policies in Gaza.