Kushner predicts progress in Hamas weapon handover within 30 days, reportedly cautions PM against interpreting ‘imminent threat’ too broadly when approving Gaza strikes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted during a meeting Monday with envoys from the White House and the US-backed Board of Peace that Israel would not redeploy any of its forces in Gaza or allow reconstruction to begin until the Strip was completely disarmed, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel. “The agreement was that there would be no redeployment or reconstruction until Hamas is disarmed throughout Gaza,” the official said of the premier’s four-hour meeting with Trump aide Jared Kushner and Board of Peace officials Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blair.
According to a CNN report, citing an Israeli source familiar with the discussions, Kushner pressed Netanyahu during the lengthy meeting to “not create obstacles” to the implementation of the Board’s 15-point plan for disarming Hamas and moving toward the second and reconstruction-focused phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Hamas has said it accepted the framework, which envisions the group gradually handing over its weapons, as Israel conducts corresponding withdrawals from Gaza, but Netanyahu has rejected the proposal, insisting that the terror group fully disarm before any Israeli withdrawals from the Strip.
According to the CNN report, Netanyahu told Kushner and Mladenov that progress on the 15-point framework was politically “problematic” ahead of Israel’s October 27 Knesset election, insisting instead that Hamas take steps first. Pressed on whether Netanyahu would even be willing to approve IDF withdrawals within Gaza, the senior Israeli official indicated that no pull-backs whatsoever would be approved before the full disarmament of both light and heavy weapons.
“The prime minister was very clear that the IDF won’t redeploy and will continue to actively thwart any effort against our forces and against our people,” the official said. “The first step towards the demilitarization of the Strip would be for Hamas to hand over all of its weapons for decommissioning,” the official said, adding that this would be under US supervision. “It was also agreed to that we’d support any efforts to help with sanitation and any other health and environmental concerns,” the official added. (Read More)
