In a significant diplomatic move, Jared Kushner, senior advisor and son-in-law to former U.S. President Donald Trump, engaged in talks with Khalil al-Hayya, the political chief of Hamas, in Egypt. The discussions on Sunday marked a renewed effort by the United States to revive a stagnant Gaza ceasefire plan. The meeting came ahead of Kushner’s scheduled talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has recently turned down a U.S.-endorsed 15-point roadmap aimed at advancing the ceasefire.
The U.S.-backed plan suggests that Hamas should gradually disarm while Israel ceases military operations and pulls back from certain areas of Gaza. Additionally, the roadmap includes proposals for reconstruction efforts and the deployment of international forces to ensure security. Although Hamas has expressed commitment to the plan, it insists that Israel must cease attacks and withdraw to the agreed “yellow line” before the plan can be implemented. Hamas has also tied the disarmament of its heavier weapons to progress towards establishing a Palestinian state, a notion opposed by Netanyahu’s administration.
Netanyahu has maintained that a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza will only occur once Hamas is fully disarmed. This impasse has delayed critical components of the ceasefire plan, including rebuilding efforts and the presence of international forces. Kushner’s meeting, attended by officials from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, aimed to secure Hamas’s adherence to the plan, focusing particularly on the disarmament issue, ahead of his conversation with Netanyahu.
Kushner is also set to meet with Netanyahu alongside former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Nickolay Mladenov, the director of the Board of Peace. The U.S.-led initiative has faced criticism from several regional nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, and Indonesia, who have denounced Israel’s dismissal of the roadmap and urged swift action to avoid further delays.
The renewed diplomatic efforts occur as Netanyahu contends with political pressures ahead of Israel’s upcoming election in October. His coalition government, which includes ministers advocating for a stricter stance on Gaza, casts uncertainty on the future of the ceasefire plan.