Kushner meets Netanyahu to break Gaza Board of Peace deadlock
US President Donald Trump 's son-in-law Jared Kushner met Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, Israeli media reported, a day after meeting Hamas leaders and mediators in Egypt, in an attempt to move forward a new proposal from the US-led Board of Peace for Gaza. Mr Kushner was accompanied by the board's envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, and former British prime minister Tony…
On Monday, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. This was their second meeting following a visit to Hamas leaders and mediators in Egypt. The primary objective was to advance a new proposal from the US-led Board of Peace for Gaza. Accompanying Kushner was Nickolay Mladenov, the board's envoy, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a member of the board who was initially considered for the presidency.
Netanyahu, who is running for re-election in October, focuses on national security and views Israel's military occupation of Gaza as integral to this. Despite Hamas's acceptance of the July 30 deal, Netanyahu rejects the US-backed plan, which involves Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for Hamas disarming. The plan demands Hamas surrender its heavy weapons, military manufacturing facilities, bases, rocket launchers, and maps of its underground tunnels to a UN-backed committee of Palestinian technocrats.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump indicated progress in persuading Hamas to disarm, stating, "They are giving up their guns." Kushner is anticipated to inform Netanyahu of the group's willingness to comply with the disarmament plan in exchange for Israel's adherence to the agreement.
Kushner's Egyptian meeting was attended by mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, including Hassan Rashad, head of Egypt's intelligence service. Mladenov has urged Netanyahu to accept the deal, emphasizing it as a means to prevent another October 7, 2023, attack. This disarming of Hamas is part of Trump's 20-point plan to end the Gaza war, which began with a ceasefire in October 2022.
However, significant progress has been lacking in fulfilling the deal's initial conditions, such as unrestricted aid entry, rubble clearance, and the commencement of rebuilding in Gaza.
On Sunday, the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt condemned Israel's rejection of Palestinian statehood and its hindrance of Gaza and West Bank peace efforts, noting the rise in settler violence against Palestinians.
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