Kushner Meets Netanyahu After Hamas Talks on Gaza Plan

Jared Kushner arrived in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss implementation of a US-backed plan for Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one day after meeting Hamas political leaders in Egypt. The talks center on a 15-point roadmap that calls for phased Israeli withdrawal from the territory in exchange for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups, followed by reconstruction under a new civilian Palestinian administration.

The Board of Peace, an international body chaired by President Trump and including roughly 40 countries, claims to have secured agreement last month on Hamas disarmament. Kushner was joined in both the Egyptian and Israeli meetings by Nickolay Mladenov, the board's director-general for Gaza, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey also participated in the Cairo session with Hamas deputy leader Khalil al-Hayya.

Netanyahu rejected the roadmap publicly earlier this month, insisting that Israeli forces will remain in Gaza until Hamas and rival factions have surrendered their weapons entirely. Israeli officials have long argued that partial withdrawals risk allowing militant groups to regroup, a concern reinforced by repeated violations of earlier ceasefires. Hamas, for its part, has conditioned any disarmament on prior Israeli withdrawal and an end to military operations, leaving the core sequencing dispute unresolved.

The timing adds pressure. Netanyahu faces national elections in October with his coalition trailing in polls and facing internal demands for a harder line against Gaza militants. Many Israeli voters remain unconvinced that Hamas intends to relinquish power or arms, given the group's repeated public statements prioritizing continued resistance. Diplomats familiar with the process note that major concessions ahead of the vote appear unlikely.

The meetings mark the highest-level direct contact between a senior US envoy and Hamas figures since last year's initial ceasefire agreement. That deal halted major fighting but has since stalled over verification of disarmament and the structure of any post-Hamas governing authority. Past attempts at externally imposed ceasefires and reconstruction schemes have repeatedly faltered when enforcement mechanisms proved weaker than the incentives for armed factions to retain control.

Regional statements from eight Muslim countries condemned Israel's rejection of the plan, while Hamas urged mediators to compel Israeli compliance. The underlying difficulty remains unchanged: translating paper commitments into verifiable steps requires one side to surrender military capacity first, something neither party has shown willingness to do without ironclad guarantees that the other will follow through.