Kushner Meets Netanyahu After Hamas Talks on Gaza Plan

Jared Kushner arrived in Jerusalem on Monday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one day after holding talks with Hamas leaders in Egypt. The sessions center on advancing President Donald Trump's 15-point Gaza plan, which calls for phased Israeli troop withdrawals alongside the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups.

The Board of Peace, chaired by Trump and including roughly 40 nations, announced last month that an agreement had been reached for the complete disarmament of Hamas. Kushner, accompanied by Board of Peace Director-General Nickolay Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, met Hamas political chief Khalil al-Hayya in El-Alamein. Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey also attended. Hamas later issued a statement urging the mediators and the Board of Peace to pressure Israel into approving the next steps in the roadmap.

Netanyahu rejected the plan earlier this month, insisting that Israeli forces would not leave Gaza until Hamas had fully surrendered its weapons. The Israeli leader faces a national election in October and leads a coalition that includes voices demanding a harder stance against the group. Polls show his coalition trailing, which diplomats say makes major concessions unlikely before voters decide. Many Israelis remain doubtful that Hamas will honor any disarmament pledge.

The Trump-backed framework envisions an International Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police unit to secure the territory after Israeli withdrawal. Hamas has indicated it accepted the plan in principle but will not disarm until Israel first meets its commitments on withdrawals and halting attacks. Eight Muslim countries released a joint statement Sunday condemning Israel's rejection of the proposal.

Kushner's meeting with al-Hayya marked the first high-level contact of its kind since last year's ceasefire agreement. That earlier deal halted major fighting but has since stalled over the disarmament requirement. More than 10 months after the ceasefire, Israeli forces still control much of the enclave, where roughly 2 million people live amid ongoing reconstruction challenges.

Blair's expanded role in the Board of Peace has drawn attention in recent months. Though not named the panel's top envoy, he has participated in discussions over a postwar governing body to replace Hamas rule in Gaza. Mladenov, a former UN official with ties to the United Arab Emirates, helped broker the disarmament understanding announced last month and is viewed as central to carrying out the original 20-point plan agreed upon last year.

Netanyahu's office has not commented on the latest talks. Israeli officials have long argued that any lasting peace requires the complete removal of Hamas's military capabilities before any territorial concessions. Hamas, for its part, maintains that Israel's continued presence and operations prevent implementation of further steps.

The current effort reflects Trump's direct involvement in pushing for an end to the conflict through a structured sequence of obligations on both sides. Whether the meetings produce movement remains uncertain given the election calendar in Israel and Hamas's record of conditioning its actions on Israeli withdrawals first.