Senior Egyptian officials told senior U.S. officials that the only way to bring about Hamas’ disarmament would be under Israel’s next government, according to comments made during meetings in Egypt with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser.
The Egyptian officials said they had no expectation of meaningful progress under Israel’s current government and warned that Hamas would only grow stronger.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Martin Sylvest / RITZAU SCANPIX / AFP, Oliver CONTRERAS / AFP)
In their view, the only path toward substantial progress in the Gaza Strip would come after Israel’s election and the formation of a new government.
The comments come amid intensified U.S. efforts to reach a framework for ending the war in Gaza.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Kushner for four hours as the U.S. envoy sought to advance a final framework for ending the war. The meeting began one-on-one before Board of Peace chairman Nikolay Mladenov, Tony Blair and other representatives joined.
A day earlier, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and several other regional countries issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s rejection of Trump’s plan for Gaza.
The statement, also signed by Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia and Turkey, said Israel “bears responsibility for delaying peace efforts in Gaza and the Palestinian territories” and warned that rejecting the plan could undermine Trump’s efforts to end the war.
Separately, following Kushner’s meeting in Egypt with senior Hamas officials, sources told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya that Kushner and Mladenov had rejected a Hamas proposal concerning the storage of its weapons.
According to the report, they insisted that Hamas surrender its weapons and dismantle its military infrastructure.
“Kushner confirmed to Hamas leaders that the organization’s weapons would leave the Gaza Strip and would not be stored there,” the sources said.
The report has not been independently verified.
If accurate, it would contradict earlier reports that Hamas weapons could be placed in storage inside Gaza. Israel has demanded that the weapons be removed from the Strip entirely so they would no longer remain accessible to Hamas or other terrorist groups.