Jared Kushner meets with Hamas ahead of talks with Netanyahu on Gaza

Jared Kushner speaks during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on . Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA View image in fullscreen Jared Kushner speaks during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on . Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA Jared Kushner meets with Hamas ahead of talks with Netanyahu on Gaza Trump’s son-in-law and envoy held rare meeting with Hamas chief in Egypt in push for progress on ceasefire Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner, held a rare meeting with Hamas’s political chief on Sunday in Egypt, in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, US-backed road map. The talks aim to salvage the plan for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory shattered by war. At stake are the lives of some 2 million people in Gaza and reconstruction of the crowded enclave now largely controlled , more than 10 months since the ceasefire ended major military operations. A meeting between Kushner, fellow envoy Steve Witkoff and Hamas leaders in Egypt last year helped clinch the ceasefire, whose progress until now had been stalled over the key issue of Hamas’s disarmament. The over two-hour meeting in Egypt with Hamas’s political chief, Khalil al-Hayya, was confirmed by a regional official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. Kushner was one of a trio of envoys meeting with al-Hayya, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkey also there. Flip-flopping Netanyahu rejects Gaza plan but cannot placate all his allies Hamas in a statement later called on mediators and the US-created Board of Peace overseeing the ceasefire to “compel” Israel to approve the road map for next steps. Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, last week rejected the 15-point plan in a rare public show of defiance against the Trump administration, Israel’s closest ally. Kushner; Tony Blair, the former British prime minister; and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace director, are to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting. Several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s rejection of the road map, saying: “Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza.” Other signers included Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the ceasefire mediators.