Previously, he negotiated in Egypt with Hamas leaders in an effort to revive the US-backed Gaza Strip peace plan, which Israel has so far rejected.
The meeting is to take place two weeks after Hamas approved the latest phase of Donald Trump’s Gaza Strip plan. B. Netanyahu refused to support it, claiming that any agreement must ensure that the group is “truly disarmed.”
Trump’s son-in-law J. Kushner met on Sunday in Alamein on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast with the new Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, sources familiar with the negotiations told AFP.
One person speaking on condition of anonymity said J. Kushner urged Hamas to take “concrete, verifiable actions.” He also conveyed the message that “Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel.”
Another source reported that Hamas reiterated its commitment to the plan.
Later, the group stated that it urged intermediaries and Trump’s “Peace Council” to “force” Israel to “confirm guidelines (…) and begin setting their implementation schedule.”
In the photo released by Egypt, K. al-Hayya was not visible, but J. Kushner was captured at the table with Peace Council members, including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The main intermediaries Qatar and Turkey also joined the negotiations.
The United States has for many years refused to maintain relations with Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization. It was this group that carried out the attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
However, the Trump administration has increasingly not shied away from direct contacts, hoping to end the conflict. Ceasefire negotiations led to the release of the remaining Israeli hostages.
Muslim countries pressure Israel
Three regional intermediaries and five other Muslim countries – Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, and Indonesia – condemned Israel’s decision to reject the plan on Sunday.
The joint statement said that “Israel bears direct and full responsibility” for obstructing peace. The countries added that such rejection “directly threatens to undermine broad” Trump efforts.
In response, B. Netanyahu’s Likud party accused “Arab countries of wanting to overthrow the prime minister in elections.”
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The UAE’s involvement is significant because five years ago this country normalized relations with Israel, starting economic and strategic cooperation, which B. Netanyahu considers one of his main achievements.
B. Netanyahu expressed opposition to the US plan even after the Peace Council’s chief representative for the Gaza Strip, Nickolay Mladenov, assured that Israel would not have to withdraw its army from the war-torn territory until Hamas is fully disarmed.
The council initially stated that Israel would begin a gradual withdrawal along with Hamas disarmament.
Israel continues strikes
Israel resumed air strikes in the Gaza Strip after a pause caused by Trump’s peace plan, although the October ceasefire never fully stopped violence in the enclave.
On Sunday, several people were injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house west of Nuseirat, said Mahmoud Bassal, a representative of the Hamas-controlled civil defense services.
The Israeli military said it responded to a threat from Islamic Jihad fighters and tried to minimize civilian casualties.
“Terrorists carried out terror attacks, so they were precisely targeted from the air to eliminate the threat,” the military said.
Since October 10, when the ceasefire took effect, at least 1,262 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli operations. This is according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health, which the United Nations considers reliable.
The Israeli military reported five of its soldiers killed during the same period.
