Tel Aviv, Aug 17. (dpa/GNA) – US special envoy, Jared Kushner, held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, with the sides saying agreements had been reached on steps towards disarming Hamas and implementing a US-backed roadmap for post-war Gaza.
However, the four-hour meeting did not produce a major breakthrough, with key questions unresolved and considerable doubts remaining over whether Hamas would ultimately agree to disarm.
It came after Kushner held rare talks with representatives of Hamas in Egypt over the weekend. Netanyahu’s office described the discussions as “deep and constructive” and said the two sides had agreed to establish two working groups, one focused on demilitarizing Gaza and the other on sanitation, clean drinking water and other public health issues.
According to Israel, both sides agreed that demilitarization should be completed “before any reconstruction” of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip begins.
A representative of Trump’s Board of Peace, told dpa that the US and Israel had also agreed there would be no withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from Gaza until Hamas was fully disarmed.
“It was agreed that there will be no IDF redeployment from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed, and all of Gaza is demilitarized, every weapon, light and heavy, and every tunnel,” the representative said, adding that Israel would retain its unrestricted right to self-defence.
Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was accompanied by Nikolay Mladenov, a top official with Trump’s Board of Peace.
On Sunday, Kushner discussed the future of Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, and senior representatives of Hamas in Egypt.
Kushner told Fox News on Monday that the meeting with Hamas had been cordial, and its representatives had said “all the right things.” “We’re going to give them a chance to performs, but it’s going to have to be based on actions and steps,” Kushner said.
He described his meeting with Netanyahu as “very, very good” and said the prime minister had “valid concerns” about the US roadmap for Gaza, but suggested that “progress could come quite soon.” Kushner said Hamas’ weapons could begin to be removed from Gaza and the group’s tunnel network filled in within the next 30 to 90 days.
A little over a week ago, Netanyahu rejected the US-backed 15-point plan for Gaza, drawn up by the Board of Peace, in a rare public rebuke of Trump.
The president formally launched the body earlier this year, with overseeing Gaza’s post-war transition among its main tasks. “The Israeli military will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas has been disarmed,” Netanyahu said at the time. He also reiterated his opposition to an independent Palestinian state.
Senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, by contrast, said Hamas remained committed to the Gaza roadmap. Following Monday’s meeting with Kushner, a senior Israeli government official said Hamas, would be required to hand over all its weapons for destruction as a first step towards demilitarizing Gaza.
The process would be overseen by US General Jasper Jeffers, commander of the international stabilization force currently being established, the official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said.
However, a fundamental disagreement remains over whether Hamas will actually disarm. According to the Israeli official, Israel does not believe Hamas is ultimately willing to surrender its weapons, while the United States believes this can be achieved.
Israel also continues to insist on its military retaining “freedom of action” to carry out targeted killings in Gaza, both in response to immediate threats and against militants involved in the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, the official said.
The official also said Israeli forces would not withdraw from the so-called “Yellow Line” when Israel’s security was at stake, although it remained unclear whether Israel was ruling out a complete withdrawal in principle. Under the Board of Peace plan, Israel, Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups would halt hostilities, with a transitional Palestinian administration, backed by an international stabilization force, eventually taking sole control of Gaza’s administration and security.
Weapons surrendered by Hamas would be stored under Palestinian control, with the process overseen by international monitors.
The plan also provides for a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, but the exact sequencing remains a major point of contention.
Israel has instead demanded the complete removal of weapons from Gaza, arguing that they could otherwise eventually fall back into Hamas hands.
Trump, meanwhile, again suggested on Monday that he could intervene in Israeli politics, by endorsing a candidate ahead of parliamentary elections in October in which Netanyahu is seeking re-election. “I think it’s most appropriate for me to stay out of Israeli elections, but I may endorse somebody,” Fox News quoted Trump as saying in a telephone interview.
Trump called on Netanyahu to refrain from attacks in Gaza and said, the United States maintained its own contacts with Hamas. He said Hamas was “giving up their guns.”
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, praised Hamas in an interview with Al Jazeera, saying the organization was showing “genuine cooperation” and fulfilling its commitments.
Erdoğan also criticized Israel for continuing its attacks in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, the foreign ministers of eight Arab and Muslim countries condemned Israel’s rejection of the Gaza roadmap and Palestinian statehood in a joint statement.
They accused Israel of obstructing implementation of the plan, and international efforts to achieve peace in Gaza and the other occupied Palestinian territories.
In response, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, accused the Arab countries of seeking to “topple” him in the upcoming election, so that his political rivals could then give them “everything they want.”
GNA