The United States assured Hamas that the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip will occur in parallel with the disarmament of Palestinian militias, and not once that process has been completely concluded, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed.
The message was conveyed by the US envoy for the Middle East, Jared Kushner, during a round of contacts held this Sunday in Egypt to reactivate the implementation of the peace plan promoted by President Donald Trump.
According to sources close to the talks cited by Al Arabiya, Kushner assured representatives of Hamas, mediators from Turkey and Qatar, and the director general of the Gaza Peace Board, Nickolay Mladenov, that the roadmap is not open to new negotiations.
“The goal is to implement the plan, not renegotiate it,” the sources said.
Another account of the meeting, published by Axios, points in the same direction: there would be “corresponding withdrawals” of Israeli forces as the effective progress of the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian militias is verified.
The formula contrasts with the position expressed by Netanyahu, who has maintained that Israel will not withdraw from Gaza before Hamas completes its disarmament.
Kushner arrived in Egypt this Sunday on an unannounced visit and held a meeting in Al Alamein with Egyptian President Abdelfatah al Sisi, amid intensified contacts to advance the US 15-point plan for Gaza.
The meeting was also attended by the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelaty, and the head of the General Intelligence Directorate, Hasan Rashad.
Hours earlier, Rashad had received a Hamas delegation led by Jalil al Haya, leader of its politburo, to discuss the implementation of the agreements reached during the Sharm el Sheikh summit and the roadmap presented by Trump.
According to available material, Kushner also conveyed that Hamas must leave the Gaza government and hand over its weapons and military infrastructure.
“There can be no ambiguity: Hamas must relinquish government authority and all weapons and military infrastructure. And Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel,” said a source cited by Axios.
Meanwhile, the Hamas delegation reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the US plan, which — according to them — would help alleviate the humanitarian situation and initiate infrastructure and reconstruction projects in the Strip.
Kushner would also have communicated to the Palestinian group that the United States will not allow forced displacement of Gaza’s population.
Coinciding with the talks in Egypt, a group of Arab and Muslim countries questioned Israel’s rejection of the Trump plan and warned that this position threatens to frustrate diplomatic efforts to end the war.
The statement was signed by the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, whose governments stated that Israel would be “directly responsible for all consequences arising from its continued rejection, obstruction, delay, or non-compliance.”
The foreign ministers also rejected any measure aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, considering that it would affect prospects for peace and stability in the region.
While efforts continue, the main difference remains focused on how the disarmament of Hamas and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will be coordinated: Washington now proposes that both processes advance in parallel, while Netanyahu has argued that disarmament must occur before a withdrawal.
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