Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner in Jerusalem on Monday as Washington intensified efforts to revive a stalled Gaza peace plan. The meeting came one day after Kushner held a rare direct meeting with Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt, placing the American envoy at the center of a renewed diplomatic push to end the conflict.
The discussions with Netanyahu focused on the next stage of Trump’s proposed Gaza roadmap, which seeks to establish a lasting ceasefire, secure the disarmament of Hamas and facilitate an Israeli military withdrawal from the territory. The plan also envisions international involvement in monitoring the process, alongside arrangements for Gaza’s future security, administration and reconstruction.
Kushner’s meeting with Hamas in Egypt was particularly significant because direct contact between U.S. officials and the Palestinian group remains highly sensitive. According to reports, the discussions were aimed at turning the commitments contained in the proposed roadmap into concrete and verifiable steps. Hamas has indicated a willingness to disarm, but has linked that process to reciprocal Israeli actions, including an end to military strikes and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Netanyahu, however, has rejected the latest U.S.-backed proposal in its current form. His government has insisted that Hamas must be fully disarmed before Israel agrees to withdraw its forces from Gaza. That position has created one of the central obstacles to the plan, with the two sides differing over which security commitments should come first.
The disagreement has placed considerable pressure on Washington. Trump’s administration is seeking to move the negotiations beyond broad declarations and toward an arrangement that can actually be implemented. Kushner was accompanied in the regional discussions by Nickolay Mladenov, a senior figure involved in the U.S.-backed effort to implement the Gaza plan.
The diplomatic initiative also faces opposition and skepticism from several regional governments. Arab and Muslim-majority countries, including key mediators, have criticized Israel’s rejection of the proposal and called for greater international pressure to advance the peace process. At the same time, Israel continues to emphasize that any settlement must address its security concerns and prevent Hamas from retaining military capabilities.
For Hamas, agreeing in principle to disarm represents a significant shift, but the group continues to demand assurances that Israel will meet its own obligations. For Israel, accepting a withdrawal before Hamas is completely disarmed carries major security and political risks. These conflicting positions make the next stage of negotiations particularly difficult.
Kushner’s talks with Netanyahu therefore represent an important test for Trump’s Gaza peace initiative. The U.S. administration is attempting to bridge a gap between Hamas’s conditional willingness to disarm and Israel’s demand for complete disarmament before withdrawal. Whether the talks can produce a workable sequence of steps remains uncertain, but the renewed diplomatic engagement offers another opportunity to move the Gaza conflict toward a more durable ceasefire and eventual reconstruction