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Netanyahu rejects Gaza disarmament deal as Kushner meets in Jerusalem
The meeting followed Kushner’s Cairo visit to Hamas’ leader, and Israel is unlikely to make major Gaza concessions before the Oct. 27 election, diplomats said.
Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, Reuters reported, a day after Kushner held a rare meeting with Hamas’ leader in Cairo as part of efforts to advance Trump’s Gaza plan. Netanyahu rejected a US-backed agreement that would require Hamas to surrender its arms in exchange for Israel withdrawing from Gaza. Trump had said the plan would be implemented in phases, with Israeli forces withdrawing as disarmament proceeds and an “International Stabilisation Force” working with a new Palestinian police force to secure the territory.
Netanyahu said Israel’s military would withdraw only after Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza have been fully disarmed. Diplomats cited by Reuters said Israel is unlikely to make major concessions over Gaza before the October 27 national election, with Netanyahu’s ruling coalition trailing in Israeli opinion polls ahead of the vote.
Kushner was joined by Nickolay Mladenov, Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, in the Jerusalem meeting. Mladenov, a former UN official with close ties to the United Arab Emirates, helped broker a disarmament agreement last month and is seen as leading implementation of Trump’s original 20-point plan to end the war, which Israel and Hamas agreed to last year.