A meeting between Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ended, the premier’s spokesperson has told the BBC.
Kushner arrived in Israel on Sunday night after holding rare talks with Hamas to discuss the implementation of the US-backed Gaza peace plan.
Last week, Israel rejected Trump’s 15-point plan for peace, which also calls for Israeli troops to withdraw and for Gaza to be rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration.
The rejection came after the president’s Board of Peace said it had reached an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza last month.
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 Blair are also meeting Netanyahu on Monday, with the aim of advancing Trump’s plan.
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.
The US-led 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 any weapons 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.
