8 Muslim countries blame Israel for ‘obstructing’ Gaza framework

Israel has objected to provisions that would allow Hamas to surrender its weapons gradually while requiring the Israeli military to withdraw from Gaza.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The foreign ministers of eight Muslim countries on Sunday condemned Israel’s rejection of a roadmap for implementing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, accusing Israel of obstructing efforts to end the conflict as Hamas and US officials held talks in Cairo on the framework.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates said Israel’s opposition amounted to a “direct repudiation” of the peace plan that “jeopardizes its implementation, and fundamentally undermines the collective efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace.”

“Such rejection confirms that Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza” and the rest of the Palestinian territory, the foreign ministers said in a joint statement.

Hamas has accepted the roadmap, which requires the terror group to disarm.

Israel has objected to provisions that would allow Hamas to surrender its weapons gradually while requiring the Israeli military to withdraw from Gaza.

Israeli officials have also raised concerns about how the disarmament process would be verified, particularly if mediators they do not trust are involved.

They oppose provisions allowing surrendered weapons to remain in Gaza in storage or be decommissioned there rather than permanently removed or destroyed.

Israeli leaders also remain skeptical that Hamas would fully relinquish its military capabilities and have expressed concern that previous commitments were intended to provide temporary pauses rather than permanently end hostilities.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday for talks with US envoy Jared Kushner on implementing the framework. Kushner was joined by Board of Peace senior envoys Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blair, along with senior diplomats from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.

The meeting marked Kushner’s first with Hayya and other Hamas officials since October 2025, when he met them while finalizing a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Israel.

Kushner sought to reassure Hayya that the US-controlled Board of Peace would press Israel to stop strikes in Gaza and gradually withdraw from the Strip once Hamas begins turning over its weapons.

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