Trump envoy Kushner meets Netanyahu after Hamas talks on peace plan
2 hours ago
Getty Images
Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner has held lengthy talkswith Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the premier’s spokesperson has told the BBC,in a bid to restart the stalled US-backed Gaza peace plan
Israel’s prime minister’s office said Israel and the board agreed that there would be no reconstruction in Gaza without Hamas’s complete disarmament
Hamas said earlier that it had asked the Board of Peace to “compel” Israel to accept the peace plan, after Kushner held rare talks with the group on Sunday
Last week Israel rejected Trump’s 15-point plan for peace, which calls for Israeli troops to withdraw and Gaza to be rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration
Trump leads the Board of Peace, which was created as an international organisation originally intended to bring peace to Gaza, but later expanded to include conflicts worldwide
According to Israeli media reports, Board of Peace envoys Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blairalso met Netanyahu on Monday
In a statement after the meeting, the office of the Israeli prime minister struck a diplomatic tone, saying Netanyahu and the board had “deep and constructive discussions”
It said they “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”
It added that a second working group “will focus on sanitation, clean water and other public health issues for the people of Gaza and which also impact the people of Israel”
In a phone interview with Fox News on Monday, Trump is reported to have said that Hamas “are giving up their guns” and that Israel should not be carrying out strikes in Gaza. The US outlet did not elaborate further on his comments
Many Israelis remain sceptical that Hamas is ready to disarm
Isaac Herzog/X
The Board of Peace wants to show that the peace plan for Gaza can still move forward – despite Netanyahu’s firm rejection of a new roadmap
Hamas has agreed to give up its weapons in exchange for a phased Israeli troop withdrawal. But Israel has insisted that Hamas must fully disarm before any Israeli pullout
It also wants anyweapons that Hamas gives up to be destroyed, rather than stored by a Palestinian technocratic committee, so that Hamas cannot reclaim them
In addition, there is opposition to Turkey and Qatar being involved in checks on whether Hamas is meeting its requirements under the deal
Pushing Netanyahu to change his position will be an uphill struggle
He has appeared increasingly willing to defy the US – his country’s closest ally – as his party struggles in polls ahead of October’s Israeli general election, and with members of his governing coalition pushing for a tougher strategy in Gaza
The far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called for nightly “targeted eliminations” of “30 or 40” people in Gaza
In a podcast interview with Rom Braslavski, who was taken hostage by Hamas during the 7 October attack, that aired on 15 August, Ben-Gvir said: “Not just those who pose an immediate threat – there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.” The comments were reported by the Associated Press, the Financial Times and the Times of Israel
Getty Images
Ahead of Monday’s meeting between Kushner and Netanyahu,aPalestinian official told the BBCthat Trump’s son-in-law met a delegation led by Hamas’s new leader Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt on Sunday
In a statement, Hamas later called on mediators and the Board of Peace to “compel” Israel to approve the roadmap for the next steps
Kushner’s meeting with Hayya is believed to be the first at this level since last year’s agreement of a ceasefire for the Gaza Strip
Mladenov, high representative for Gaza to the Board of Peace, and Blair, a former UK prime minister, were also part of the meeting, alongside representatives of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have mediated in the peace efforts
No official statement was released on the talks, reportedly focusing on concrete actions to decommission Hamas’s weapons, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops and humanitarian efforts
Artner, that the meeting’s contents included “beginning to transfer all governing responsibilities to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, ensuring Hamas has no future governing role in Gaza, facilitating Israeli withdrawals and deploying an international stabilising force to the region”
What’s in the Gaza peace deal roadmap?
Also on Sunday, Egypt, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia said Israel’s rejection of the US plan threatened Trump’s peace efforts
Following Israel’s rejection of the plan, there appeared to be a pause in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, though attacks have still continued
The ceasefire, which came into effect on 10 October last year, remains in place
However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has carried out near daily strikes since then
More than 1,200 people have been killed since the ceasefire according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN. Unicef says at least 300 children have reportedly been killed
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad “terrorists” in Khan Younis and Nuseirat. Local medics said several people living in a tent camp in Khan Younis were injured
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of ceasefire violations
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage
Israel responded to the attack by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 73,000 people have been killed, including 21,280 children, according to the territory’s health ministry
The UN estimates that about 1.9 million people – 90% of Gaza’s population – have been displaced since the war started
Netanyahu’s rejection of Trump’s 15-point Gaza plan unlikely to be final word
Who is on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ overseeing Gaza’s reconstruction?
Hamas names Khalil al-Hayya as new overall leader
Follow the twists and turns of Trump’s second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher’s weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here
Israel
Gaza
Middle East
Israel-Gaza war
Benjamin Netanyahu
Donald Trump
