Kushner pushes Gaza peace plan as Netanyahu holds firm on Hamas disarmament

Jared Kushner has arrived in Israel to press forward with Trump’s ambitious Gaza peace plan, but faces an uphill battle convincing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept terms the Israeli leader has already rejected.

The Trump administration’s Middle East envoy held rare talks with Hamas leadership in Egypt on Sunday, marking the highest-level engagement since last year’s ceasefire took effect in October. Yet despite these diplomatic overtures, the fundamental sticking points remain unresolved: Israel wants complete Hamas disarmament before any troop withdrawal, while the peace roadmap demands both occur in tandem.

The Plan and the Politics

Trump’s Board of Peace, an international organization created to broker Gaza’s reconstruction, released a comprehensive 15-point plan last month. The proposal calls for complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups, full Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and establishment of a new Palestinian civilian administration to oversee rebuilding efforts.

Eight Muslim nations swiftly condemned Israel’s rejection. Egypt, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia issued a joint statement Sunday warning that Netanyahu’s stance threatens Trump’s peace efforts. Yet the Israeli prime minister has shown no signs of backing down, declaring that the IDF will not withdraw “until Hamas is genuinely disarmed.”

Netanyahu’s intransigence partly reflects domestic political pressure. The October election looms, and his coalition includes far-right ministers demanding a harder line on Gaza. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir recently dismissed the 15-point plan as “not acceptable” and advocated for “targeted assassinations” of 30 to 40 individuals nightly, making dehumanizing statements that have drawn international criticism.

On the Ground Reality

Meanwhile, the supposed ceasefire continues deteriorating. Since October 10 last year, more than 1,200 people have been killed in Gaza according to Hamas health ministry figures, which the UN considers reliable. UNICEF reports at least 300 children among the dead. The Israeli military claims it has only targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad positions, but local medics in Khan Younis reported civilians injured in recent strikes on tent camps.

Israel and Hamas trade accusations of ceasefire violations. Israeli forces have conducted near-daily operations despite the agreement. A brief lull followed Israel’s rejection of the 15-point plan, apparently at US request, but military operations have since resumed.

A Fragile Diplomatic Window

Kushner’s meetings in Cairo included Board of Peace envoys Nickolay Mladenov and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, alongside representatives from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey. The talks reportedly focused on concrete mechanisms for Hamas weapons decommissioning, Israeli troop withdrawal timelines, and humanitarian assistance frameworks.

Kushner also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, signaling the administration’s commitment to maintaining regional support. Mladenov and Blair are expected to meet Netanyahu on Monday, but expectations remain low given the prime minister’s public stance.

The broader context underscores the challenge. The original October 7, 2023 Hamas attack killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 251 hostages taken. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has killed over 73,000 Palestinians, including 21,280 children. The UN estimates 90 percent of Gaza’s population, roughly 1.9 million people, have been displaced.

Many Israelis remain skeptical that Hamas would genuinely disarm. Netanyahu’s domestic critics want continued military pressure. Hamas, for its part, calls on mediators to compel Israel to accept the roadmap. Each side accuses the other of bad faith, while civilians trapped between them endure an indefinite state of ceasefire in name only.

The question facing Kushner and the Board of Peace is whether diplomatic pressure can overcome Netanyahu’s political calculations and Israeli public sentiment demanding security guarantees that may prove incompatible with Palestinian reconstruction.

Source: BBC