Kushner meets with Hamas in push to revive Gaza plan

Jared Kushner, son-in-law and envoy to US President Donald Trump, met with Hamas' new leader Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt on Sunday, in an attempt to revive a Gaza peace plan that Israel has rejected. This came two weeks after Hamas approved the latest stage of Trump's Gaza plan, committing to disarmament, a condition demanded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kushner pushed for "concrete, verifiable steps" and expressed concern that "Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel." Khalil al-Hayya, who recently assumed leadership of Hamas, participated in the discussions in El-Alamein, Egypt for the first time since becoming leader. Hamas reaffirmed its commitment to the plan after the talks, urging mediators and Trump's Board of Peace to compel Israel to approve the roadmap and establish an implementation timetable.

The United States, which had previously refused to contact Hamas, has grown more comfortable with direct engagement in hopes of ending the Gaza conflict. Other Muslim states, including Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Indonesia, condemned Israel's rejection of the plan, accusing it of obstructing peace and threatening to derail extensive efforts by the Trump administration.

Despite this, Netanyahu's Likud Party blamed the Arab countries for attempting to undermine his re-election prospects.