Kushner’s Gaza peace plan talks end without breakthrough

Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations Stall as Kushner Returns Home Without a Deal

No Breakthrough from This Week’s Middle East Shuttle

Poinews.com – The diplomatic push by US special envoy Jared Kushner to advance Washington’s Gaza peace framework concluded this week without any meaningful shift in positions. Kushner, who serves as President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, traveled to the region to sit down separately with Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The trip followed Netanyahu’s public dismissal of the latest 15-point roadmap designed to end the conflict, which he had rejected earlier in the month.

The Plan and Where Each Side Stands

Unveiled in late July by Trump’s Board of Peace, the proposal calls for a full Israeli pullout from Gaza paired with Hamas surrendering its arsenal and giving up administrative authority over the territory. The militant group has accepted the framework in principle. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has insisted that any troop withdrawal hinges on Hamas “genuinely” laying down its arms. The Israeli leader is also in the midst of campaigning ahead of Israel’s October elections.

What the Two Sides Did Agree

After Kushner’s session with Netanyahu, a senior Israeli official briefed AFP on the narrow common ground reached:

“Agreed that no redeployment or reconstruction would take place in the Gaza Strip before Hamas is disarmed throughout Gaza.”

The official went on to explain that the parties also settled on a sequencing question: the initial move toward demilitarising the Strip would involve Hamas surrendering its weapons for decommissioning, overseen by an American general.

Netanyahu’s office issued its own readout, describing the encounter as “deep and constructive.” The statement stressed that both Israel and the Board of Peace remained “determined” that the “disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza” must be “prompt and completed before any reconstruction happens.” It further noted agreement on establishing two working groups — one tasked with the disarmament and demilitarisation track, the other addressing “sanitation, clean water and other public health issues” affecting Gazans.

Kushner Floats a 30-Day Window

In a Fox News interview later on Monday, Kushner hinted that tangible movement on Hamas disarmament could arrive quickly.

“We could be seeing progress in as little as 30 days, hopefully starting to take some of the weapons out and hopefully, you know, filling in some of the tunnels.”

Eight Foreign Ministers Condemn Israel’s Rejection

The Kushner shuttle unfolded against a backdrop of sharp regional criticism. On Sunday, foreign ministers from Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates released a joint communique denouncing Israel’s refusal to implement Washington’s roadmap.

“Rejecting the Road Map constitutes an explicit refusal to proceed with the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, and directly threatens to derail the extensive efforts exerted by US President Trump to bring an end to the war in Gaza and establish the conditions for lasting peace.”