Tel aviv: US envoy Jared Kushner is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after conducting discussions with Hamas leaders in Egypt. The talks aimed at reviving a US-backed Gaza peace plan, which Israel has so far declined to accept.
According to TRTworld.com, two weeks prior to this meeting, Hamas had endorsed the latest stage of former President Trump's Gaza plan, which Netanyahu has consistently opposed. The Israeli leader has emphasized that any resolution must ensure the disarmament of Hamas. Kushner held discussions with Hamas's new leader, Khalil al-Hayya, in El-Alamein, Egypt, on Sunday. Sources familiar with the talks reported that Kushner emphasized the need for Hamas to take "concrete, verifiable steps" and conveyed that "Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel."
Hamas reiterated its commitment to the peace plan, according to another source. The Palestinian resistance group later urged mediators and Trump's Board of Peace to pressure Israel into approving the roadmap and initiating a timetable for its implementation. A photograph released by Egypt showed Kushner alongside members of the Board of Peace, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but did not feature al-Hayya. Key mediators, Qatar and Trkiye, were also present at the meeting.
The United States, which had previously avoided contact with Hamas, shifted its approach during the Trump administration, engaging directly in hopes of resolving the conflict. This included negotiating an October ceasefire agreement that facilitated the release of the remaining Israeli hostages.
On Sunday, regional mediator countries and five other Muslim nations, including Trkiye, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Indonesia, issued a joint statement condemning Israel's rejection of the peace plan. They asserted that "Israel bears direct and full responsibility" for hindering peace efforts and warned that its refusal threatens to undermine the extensive efforts led by Trump.
Netanyahu's Likud Party responded by accusing "the Arab countries" of attempting to undermine the prime minister's position in the upcoming election. The UAE's inclusion in the statement is notable, given its normalization of relations with Israel five years ago, which initiated significant economic and strategic collaborations.
Despite assurances from Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, that Israel would not be required to withdraw troops from Gaza until Hamas's complete disarmament, Netanyahu remains opposed to the US plan. Initially, the board had proposed a phased Israeli withdrawal concurrent with Hamas's disarmament.
Meanwhile, Israel has resumed air strikes in Gaza, resulting in injuries to several Palestinians in Nuseirat and Khan Yunis. Since the October 10 ceasefire, at least 1,262 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's health ministry.