The future of the Gaza Strip remains unclear after four hours of talks on Monday between Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner.
US president Donald Trump last month announced that Hamas had agreed to lay down its arms in phases, under a 15-point “roadmap” put forward by his so-called Board of Peace to advance his strategy for the Strip, as Israel’s military withdraws from Gaza. Hamas said it agreed to the plan, but implementation depends on Israel first meeting its own commitments, including halting attacks and withdrawing.
Last week Netanyahu rejected Trump’s 15-point plan, insisting that an Israeli military withdrawal could only come after a complete Hamas disarmament. The plan calls for Israeli troops to withdraw and Gaza reconstruction to take place under a new Palestinian technocratic administration.
Putting a positive spin on the discussions, which were also attended by Gaza Board of Peace envoys Nickolay Mladenov and former British prime minister Tony Blair, Kushner described the Gaza plan as a “win-win” for Israel.
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“We could be seeing progress … in as little as 30 days, hopefully in starting to take some of the weapons out,” he told Fox News, adding that filling in tunnels used by Hamas in Gaza could happen in the next 60 to 90 days.
“For Israel, we think it’s a win-win situation. Either Hamas will go ahead in disarming willingly over the next 60 to 90 days, or Israel will have a lot more support from the US and others to go and finish the job in the appropriate way.”
Hamas, during talks in Cairo on Sunday, had urged Board of Peace representatives to “compel” Israel to accept the peace plan. The foreign ministers of eight Arab and Islamic countries also blamed Israel for the deadlock, issuing a statement accusing it of obstructing efforts to achieve peace in the Gaza Strip.
A Board of Peace official said Hamas would have several weeks to demonstrate tangible steps toward disarming.
“Within a few weeks, Hamas will have to show real and concrete steps that it is actually beginning to disarm. Not just on paper,” said the official.
“If it does so, that is a very positive step. If not, it will be clear to everyone that it does not actually intend to implement what it signed. In that case, Israel will have international diplomatic backing to act to disarm Hamas.
“The Israelis are going to give this a chance. Now it depends on Hamas to show whether it really intends to comply.”
Israel is insisting that Hamas hands over its weapons to a team led by US general Jasper Jeffers, the International Stabilisation Force commander in Gaza. Hamas had argued that the weapons should be transferred to a Palestinian body to be put in storage inside Gaza.
The agreement between Netanyahu and Kushner that there will be no Israeli troop redeployment from Gaza until Hamas disarms ties in conveniently with Netanyahu’s domestic political considerations. Facing elections on October 27th, he wants to avoid making any significant concessions before then, including pulling Israeli troops back to the international border.
His rivals on the right are demanding a hardline approach on Gaza.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, has advocated stepped-up military strikes.
“I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat; there are people there who are not worthy of life,” he said.
Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist party, called for the Israeli army’s complete takeover of Gaza and the installation of new Jewish settlements in the enclave.
