Web Desk(National Times)- President Donald Trump\u2019s envoy Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after holding talks with Hamas leaders, as he tries to revive a Gaza peace plan that Israel has so far rejected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting comes two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump\u2019s Gaza plan, which Netanyahu has refused to support, insisting any settlement must ensure the group is \u201cgenuinely disarmed\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A diplomatic official confirmed to AFP that the meeting in Jerusalem had begun late on Monday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kushner \u2014 Trump\u2019s son-in-law \u2014 met Hamas\u2019 new leader Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Alamein on Sunday, sources with knowledge of the discussions told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kushner demanded that the group verify it is giving up its weapons, a key sticking point for Netanyahu, and that Hamas renounce any future role in governing the Palestinian territory, the sources said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Netanyahu is expected to meet behind closed doors with Kushner, who has long family connections with the Israeli leader, as well as Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on Trump\u2019s \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d implementing the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli media reported that former UK prime minister Tony Blair, now a senior Board of Peace official, would also attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Hamas official said the group told Kushner it was committed to the Gaza plan and wanted pressure on Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHamas is demanding that the US administration\u2026 pressure Netanyahu\u2019s government to adhere to and implement the roadmap agreement. Hamas is awaiting the US administration\u2019s response regarding Israel\u2019s position on the agreement,\u201d the Hamas official told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration has become increasingly comfortable with engaging directly with Hamas in the hope of ending the devastating conflict, and negotiated the October ceasefire agreement that led to the release of remaining Israeli hostages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hardline rhetoric
Netanyahu, who is facing elections in October that polls show will be tight, has increasingly been willing to defy Trump, whose support he once highlighted in his campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prime minister has also made clear his unhappiness with Trump\u2019s decision to halt the US-Israeli war on Iran launched in late February and instead pursue a settlement with Tehran\u2019s clerical leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After initially voicing muted criticism of the Gaza plan, Netanyahu last week told his cabinet that he rejected it and vowed not to pull troops from the Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stance came even though Mladenov had assured him that Israel would not need to withdraw until a full disarmament by Hamas, backtracking on the Board of Peace\u2019s earlier calls for Israel to start a phased withdrawal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview, Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right national security minister in Netanyahu\u2019s cabinet, called for mass killings in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think targeted eliminations should be carried out in Gaza every night. Take out 30 or 40,\u201d Ben Gvir said on a podcast with a former Gaza hostage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot only those who endanger you right now. These are people who shouldn\u2019t be alive,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m paying them a compliment by calling them humans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, eight Muslim-majority countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates condemned Israel\u2019s rejection of the Gaza plan in a joint statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel has resumed airstrikes in Gaza after a lull following Trump\u2019s promotion of the peace plan, although the October ceasefire had never fully halted the violence in the Strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel has killed at least 1,265 Palestinians since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, according to figures by Gaza\u2019s health ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during Gaza operations over the same period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web Desk(National Times)- President Donald Trump\u2019s envoy Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after holding talks with Hamas leaders, as he tries to revive a Gaza peace plan that Israel has so far rejected. The meeting comes two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump\u2019s Gaza plan, which Netanyahu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n