The Media Line: Kushner-Netanyahu Talks Fail To Break Gaza Disarmament Deadlock 

Kushner-Netanyahu Talks Fail To Break Gaza Disarmament Deadlock 

By The Media Line Staff 

US envoy Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed Monday in Jerusalem to establish working groups on Hamas’ disarmament and Gaza’s public health needs, but failed to resolve whether Israel must withdraw from the territory before the armed group surrenders its weapons. 

The three-hour meeting followed Kushner’s talks Sunday in Cairo with Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya. Kushner is seeking to revive a US-backed, 15-point roadmap for implementing the Gaza ceasefire and transferring the territory’s administration to a Palestinian technocratic committee. 

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, also participated in Monday’s discussions. 

Netanyahu’s office described the talks as “deep and constructive” and said both sides agreed that Gaza’s demilitarization should be completed rapidly and before reconstruction begins. One working group will address disarmament and demilitarization, while the other will consider public health matters. 

A Board of Peace official called the meeting “lengthy, in-depth, and very productive.” 

“We agreed with the PM on a path forward. The Israelis are going to give this a chance. Now it’s up to Hamas to show if it truly intends to comply,” the official said. 

Kushner later met President Isaac Herzog, Mladenov and other Board of Peace officials to discuss the Gaza roadmap and its security implications. 

“The next steps in Gaza must ensure the security of the State of Israel and its citizens, and bring stability and a better future for all the peoples in the region,” Herzog said. He added that Israel’s security interests were a central part of the plan and encouraged the negotiating teams to continue their work. 

The principal dispute concerns the order of implementation. Netanyahu insists that Hamas surrender its weapons before Israeli troops leave Gaza, while Hamas has called for Israel to halt its attacks and begin withdrawing before disarmament is completed. The roadmap envisions Hamas transferring its weapons to a Palestinian body as Israeli forces pull back in stages. 

Israeli officials said Netanyahu proposed that a US general oversee and verify the weapons transfer. They also said Israel had retained the right to conduct targeted operations against Hamas and had not agreed to withdraw from the current ceasefire line. 

President Donald Trump announced in July that an agreement had been reached for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas. Hamas says it has accepted the roadmap but has linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to progress toward Palestinian statehood. 

Reconstruction and the deployment of an International Stabilization Force remain stalled. Israel controls roughly 60% of Gaza, and the Palestinian technocratic committee designated to administer the territory has not entered it. 

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