Benjamin Netanyahu has told Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner there can be no progress on the stalled Gaza ceasefire deal or an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal strip until Hamas first disarms. An Israeli official said there had been no breakthrough in the meeting between the pair, saying Netanyahu had made it clear the IDF would not withdraw and would continue to carry out operations in Gaza. On Sunday, Kushner had met Hamas’s political chief in Egypt, where Hamas insisted Israel must first withdraw its troops from the 60% of Gaza that Israel occupies.
Monday’s three-hour meeting in Israel came after Netanyahu had forcefully rejected a week earlier the US-backed 15-point roadmap to move the ceasefire deal in Gaza forward. In the meeting with Kushner, Netanyahu once again insisted there could be no Israeli withdrawal or reconstruction without full Hamas disarmament, and the Israeli prime minister requested that a US general supervise the group’s handover of weapons. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said: “The prime minister and Board of Peace had deep and constructive discussions.
It was agreed to establish two working groups, one on disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza, which both Israel and the Board of Peace are determined should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction happens in Gaza.” In a separate statement, a Board of Peace official said the meeting was “lengthy, in depth and very productive”. They said: “We agreed with the PM on a path forward. The Israelis are going to give this a chance.
Now it’s up to Hamas to show if it truly intends to comply.” The timing of the meeting, which also included Tony Blair and Nickolay Mladenov, who both sit on Trump’s self-styled Board of Peace, was not auspicious. With Netanyahu struggling in the polls ahead of national elections later this year, Gaza – and Netanyahu’s role in events leading up to Hamas’s surprise attack on Israeli border communities on 7 October 2023 – remains a highly charged issue where Netanyahu is seen as vulnerable. According to the Haaretz newspaper, the meeting ended with the US agreeing that Israel could continue striking Gaza, apparently contradicting a statement from Trump earlier on Monday that Israel “should not be striking in Gaza”.
While Hamas says it has agreed to the roadmap, which includes disarmament, the group is urging mediators and the Board of Peace to compel Israel to sign on. Officials from the mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkey were also present. Israel, which under the roadmap must gradually withdraw from Gaza, insists Hamas must fully disarm before any Israeli withdrawal, a sequence representing a long-term impasse.
Instead, Israeli troops continue to occupy about 60% of the strip and Netanyahu has previously threatened to take over more. A day earlier, Kushner met Hamas’s political chief, Khalil al-Hayya, for talks about disarmament, according to a regional official and a Hamas official who both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters. The Hamas official said the group was committed and waiting for mediators to start the 14-day negotiation period to work out a timetable for implementation.
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