Kushner-Netanyahu Talks Fail to Advance Gaza Ceasefire

Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and Middle East envoy, held hours-long talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss a stalled U.S.-backed ceasefire plan for Gaza. The meeting followed Kushner's discussions with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt as part of efforts to advance a 15-point roadmap for the region.

The roadmap, backed by the United States, aims for Hamas disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Two joint working groups were formed during the talks: one focused on disarmament and demilitarization, while another addresses humanitarian efforts such as sanitation, clean water, and health issues. Kushner emphasized that reconstruction in Gaza will not begin until demilitarization is complete.

Despite Hamas agreeing to the roadmap, tensions remain high over the sequence of events. According to PBS reporting, Hamas insists on parallel Israeli withdrawal and disarmament. However, Israel demands full Hamas disarmament before any withdrawal occurs. Netanyahu's office stated that both sides agreed to establish two working groups — one focused on disarmament and demilitarization, which both Israel and the Board of Peace are determined should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction happens in Gaza.

Netanyahu faces a challenging election on October 27, with his coalition including ministers taking a harsh line on Gaza. It remains unclear whether he will take decisive steps on the ceasefire before then. The anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, is also approaching.

Several regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, condemned Israel's rejection of the roadmap. They stated that 'Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza.' The foreign ministers' statement called on the Board of Peace and the U.S. to take immediate measures to prevent any party from obstructing the plan's implementation.

An Israeli airstrike killed nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza on Wednesday, medics said, two days after Kushner ended his trip to the region that failed to push forward Donald Trump's plan to end the war. The strike also wounded fifteen others, including several officers and a 13-year-old girl who was nearby. The Israeli military stated it had struck Hamas militants operating from the civilian police station.

In what had appeared to be a possible breakthrough at the end of July, President Trump announced that Hamas had accepted a roadmap which entailed the Palestinian militant group decommissioning its weapons in phases as Israel’s military withdrew from Gaza. However, Netanyahu rejected the roadmap, insisting that the military would only withdraw once Hamas has completely disarmed.

Hamas has demanded that Israel adhere to the ceasefire and withdraw its forces from Gaza. Both sides have disputed the sequencing of how Trump's plan should be implemented. On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least seven Palestinians, including a child, at a beachfront cafe. The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas commanders who had planned attacks against forces operating in the enclave.

Despite claiming to have had a “good meeting”, Kushner did not seem to have achieved much progress. In an interview with Fox News, he seemed to downplay the Israeli rejection. Netanyahu will not step back from his insistence that Hamas has to disarm first before Israel fulfils any of its commitments. He holds the same position on Lebanon – a position that is seen as largely obstructive by those involved in the negotiations.

The ultimate goal of the Israeli prime minister is to delay future negotiations and especially the closing of any deal. This is because he does not gain anything politically from a concentrated effort to end Israel’s wars. As long as Netanyahu is able to keep Israel fighting in any conflict – whether with Iran, the Palestinians, Hezbollah or Syria – he can pass himself off as “Mr Security”, the only one capable of dealing effectively with the multifront security threat.

Opinion polls indicated that 45 percent of Israelis oppose a peace deal for Gaza, 37 percent want a return to fighting in the strip while 17 percent want the status quo to be maintained. Two-thirds of Israelis want Israeli occupation of parts of southern Lebanon to continue to retain a “security belt”. Nearly half of Israelis want major military action against Iran to continue. Many of these pro-war voters are part of Netanyahu’s potential supporters.

Within hours of Jared Kushner leaving talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aimed at salvaging the Gaza 'ceasefire', Israeli strikes were again hitting residential areas in the enclave, and by week's end, senior officers were describing a return to pre-ceasefire rules of engagement. The attacks that followed suggested that Kushner’s warning had done little to constrain Israel’s interpretation of what constituted an “imminent threat”. Hours after Kushner left, a strike on a crowded cafe at the Gaza City port killed at least seven Palestinians, including a child.

The next day, a strike on Gaza City's former police headquarters killed at least nine people, including the acting director of Gaza’s police force, the head of its women’s police division and a 13-year-old girl. A Hamas source told Al Jazeera that the officials had gathered to prepare for the weapons handover called for under U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan – meaning, if accurate, Israel killed the very people organizing the disarmament it demands.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Iran tried to kill one of his sons but gave no details on when or where the alleged plot took place or which son was targeted. The allegation came as his coalition trailed in opinion polls ahead of the general election in October, amidst heightened tensions following a U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.