Jared Kushner arrives in Israel for talks with Netanyahu

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, has arrived in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after holding rare talks with senior Hamas figures in Egypt, including the group’s leader Khalil al-Hayya. 

The meeting is expected to focus on issues related to implementing the next stage of efforts to resolve the situation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli news portal reports.

According to reports, Kushner pressed Hamas on concrete and verifiable steps towards disarmament, while Hamas called for an Israeli withdrawal and an end to attacks before the plan is implemented.

Kushner travelled to Egypt with senior representatives of the Board of Peace, including envoy Nikolay Mladenov and former British prime minister Tony Blair, before heading to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to Saudi broadcaster, Kushner and Mladenov rejected a Hamas proposal on storing weapons and insisted that the group surrender its arms and remove them from Gaza. The report has not been independently verified and differs from earlier accounts suggesting that Hamas weapons could instead be stored inside the territory.

The talks come amid growing international pressure over the US-backed plan. Eight Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Türkiye and the UAE, have criticised Israel’s rejection of the proposal, warning that it could undermine US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the conflict.

The 15-point roadmap calls for an end to military activity, the disarmament of Hamas, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the transfer of civilian authority to a Palestinian technocratic body and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.

By Aghakazim Guliyev