Kushner Meets Netanyahu After Hamas Talks on Gaza Plan

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East envoy, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday to advance a US-backed 15-point plan for Gaza that Israel has already rejected. The discussions followed Kushner's rare engagement a day earlier with Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt, alongside former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Board of Peace Director-General Nickolay Mladenov and mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.

The Trump administration's roadmap calls for phased Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups, and the establishment of a new civilian Palestinian administration supported by an international stabilization force. Trump chairs the Board of Peace, an international body created earlier this year that now includes roughly 40 countries but no Palestinian representatives. Last month the board announced an agreement on disarmament, yet Israel immediately pushed back against key elements.

Netanyahu has insisted that Israeli forces will remain in Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed, rejecting the plan's sequencing that would allow gradual withdrawal in exchange for verifiable steps by the group. The prime minister faces a national election in October and relies on a coalition that includes ministers advocating a harder line. Israeli public opinion remains divided, with many voters expressing doubt that Hamas would genuinely surrender its weapons.

Hamas has stated it accepted the overall framework but conditioned implementation on Israel first fulfilling its ceasefire obligations, including troop withdrawal and an end to attacks. A Palestinian official described the Egypt meeting as focused on turning the roadmap into concrete, verifiable actions. Hamas later issued a statement urging mediators and the Board of Peace to pressure Israel into approving the next steps.

Eight Muslim countries released a joint statement on Sunday condemning Israel's rejection of the plan. The Gaza ceasefire, reached last year after more than a year of major fighting, has largely held but left the territory's reconstruction stalled and roughly two million residents under continued Israeli military oversight more than ten months later. Diplomats involved in the process say major Israeli concessions are unlikely before the October vote.

Kushner's direct talks with al-Hayya marked the highest-level US contact with Hamas since the ceasefire was originally secured. The meeting in El-Alamein also included Blair, who has taken on an expanded behind-the-scenes role in the Board of Peace despite not being named its top envoy. Mladenov, a former UN official with ties to the United Arab Emirates, has been central to efforts to translate the disarmament agreement into practice.

Israeli officials have not commented publicly on the latest round of talks. Netanyahu's office declined immediate requests for a statement following Monday's meeting in Jerusalem. Regional analysts note that both sides continue to frame the other's compliance as the prerequisite for progress, leaving the future administration of Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces unresolved.