Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
US negotiator Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt on Sunday in a fresh effort to revive progress on the stalled Gaza ceasefire. The talks came ahead of Kushner’s scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, as mediators try to salvage a new 15-point, US-backed roadmap under which Hamas would disarm in Gaza and Israel would withdraw from the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
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The outcome of the effort could shape the lives of around 2 million people in Gaza and the reconstruction of the densely populated enclave, which is now largely controlled by Israeli forces, more than 10 months after the ceasefire ended major military operations. A meeting in Egypt last year involving Kushner, fellow envoy Steve Witkoff and Hamas leaders had helped secure the ceasefire, but progress since then has stalled over the central issue of Hamas’ disarmament.
The meeting with al-Hayya was confirmed by a regional official and a Hamas official, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to reporters. Kushner was one of three envoys meeting al-Hayya, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye also present.
Netanyahu last week rejected the 15-point plan in a rare public show of defiance against the Trump administration, Israel’s closest ally. Kushner, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Nickolay Mladenov, director of the US-created Board of Peace that is overseeing the ceasefire, are due to meet Netanyahu on Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source. Both also spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting is being held behind closed doors.
Ahead of that meeting, several regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, issued a statement criticising Israel’s rejection of the roadmap and saying that “Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza”. Other signatories included Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the ceasefire mediators. The foreign ministers also called on the Board of Peace and the US to take “immediate and concrete measures” to stop any party from blocking the plan’s implementation.
According to the regional official, Kushner’s meeting with the Hamas leader was aimed at ensuring the group’s commitment to the roadmap, particularly on disarmament, before his talks with Netanyahu. The Hamas official said the group was committed and was waiting for mediators to begin the 14-day negotiation period to work out a timetable for implementation. That process can begin only after all parties approve the roadmap.
The Hamas official also said al-Hayya demanded that Israel stop its attacks on Gaza and withdraw to the so-called yellow line before implementation of the roadmap begins. The yellow line has never been precisely defined. Israeli forces have moved beyond it and now control about 60 per cent of Gaza. In May, Netanyahu said the next step was to move to 70 per cent control, with Israel “tightening the grip” on Hamas “from every direction”.
The White House on Sunday declined to comment on the talks and referred questions to the Board of Peace, which did not immediately respond. The Tony Blair Institute also did not comment. Under the roadmap, Hamas would hand over weapons to the Palestinian technocratic committee meant to oversee day-to-day operations in Gaza, though the committee has not yet entered the territory. Hamas has linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to the creation of a Palestinian state, which Israel’s current government rejects.
The roadmap requires Hamas to gradually give up its weapons while Israeli forces halt attacks and begin withdrawing from Gaza. However, Netanyahu has said Israel will not pull back from any position in Gaza until Hamas is completely disarmed. That position has left other parts of the ceasefire plan, including reconstruction and the deployment of international forces to separate Israeli troops from areas controlled by the committee, on hold, underscoring how the latest diplomatic push remains tied to the unresolved question of disarmament.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
