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Kushner, Berkowitz Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for Abraham Accords

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner attend the departure ceremony of US President Donald Trump at the Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner attend the departure ceremony of US President Donald Trump at the Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
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Kushner, Berkowitz Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for Abraham Accords

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner attend the departure ceremony of US President Donald Trump at the Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner attend the departure ceremony of US President Donald Trump at the Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and his deputy, Avi Berkowitz, were nominated on Sunday for the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in negotiating four normalization deals between Israel and Arab nations known as the "Abraham Accords."

The deals were announced in a four-month span between mid-August and mid-December.

Nominating the pair of former deputies to then-President Donald Trump was American attorney Alan Dershowitz, who was eligible to do so in his capacity as a professor emeritus of Harvard Law School.

Dershowitz had defended Trump in his first impeachment trial last year and said in a Jan. 20 comment in the Wall Street Journal that the Senate should dismiss the article of impeachment against Trump over the Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol as he is no longer president.

Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, and Berkowitz, who was the Middle East envoy, were key figures in negotiating deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

In a statement, Kushner said he was honored to be nominated for the prize, which will be awarded in October.

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At Least 26 Die in Migrant Shipwreck Off Italy's Lampedusa Island

Migrants disembark from the boat that rescued them after their ship sank off the coast of Italy's Lampedusa island in the harbor of Italian island of Lampedusa on August 14, 2025. (Photo by -STR / ANSA / AFP) / Italy OUT
Migrants disembark from the boat that rescued them after their ship sank off the coast of Italy's Lampedusa island in the harbor of Italian island of Lampedusa on August 14, 2025. (Photo by -STR / ANSA / AFP) / Italy OUT
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At Least 26 Die in Migrant Shipwreck Off Italy's Lampedusa Island

Migrants disembark from the boat that rescued them after their ship sank off the coast of Italy's Lampedusa island in the harbor of Italian island of Lampedusa on August 14, 2025. (Photo by -STR / ANSA / AFP) / Italy OUT
Migrants disembark from the boat that rescued them after their ship sank off the coast of Italy's Lampedusa island in the harbor of Italian island of Lampedusa on August 14, 2025. (Photo by -STR / ANSA / AFP) / Italy OUT

At least 26 people died in a migrant shipwreck on Wednesday off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa and 60 survivors were brought ashore, the coastguard said, warning more bodies could be missing as search operations continue.

The disaster, in this case involving people travelling from Libya, is the latest to befall migrants making the perilous Mediterranean crossing from Africa to Europe.

An Italian law enforcement aircraft spotted a capsized boat with bodies in the water about 14 miles (23 km) off Lampedusa on Wednesday morning, triggering a rescue operation, the coastguard said in a statement.

Based on initial accounts from the rescued migrants, they departed from the Tripoli area in Libya in the early morning aboard two boats. One of the vessels began taking on water and they transferred to the other one, which later capsized in choppy seas, a source close to the matter said.

Initial tallies from the UN refugee agency UNHCR indicated that the group of migrants comprised some 92 to 97 people, Reuters reported.

Since the start of this year, 675 people have died in the central Mediterranean while trying to make the crossing from Africa, said Filippo Ungaro, a UNHCR spokesperson in Italy.

"The survivors brought into the hotspot arrived in reasonable health; naturally, there was exhaustion, and psychologically they were quite shaken," said Imad Dalil, who heads the Italian Red Cross migrant hub on Lampedusa.

Earlier, the Red Cross said a total 56 men and four women had been brought ashore following the accident.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government has vowed to block migrant sea journeys from Africa and has passed measures against people smugglers, including tougher jail terms, urging allies to do the same.

In a statement, Meloni expressed her sadness over the tragedy and said it showed the need for stronger action to stop illegal arrivals.

"We therefore renew our commitment to combat these unscrupulous traffickers in the only way possible: by preventing irregular departures and managing migration flows," she said.