Kushner, Blair, Mladenov press Netanyahu to accept new Board of Peace Gaza plan

Jared Kushner, Tony Blair, and Nickolay Mladenov meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, with the aim of pressuring him to back partial IDF withdrawals from Gaza under the proposed Hamas disarmament plan.

By World Israel News Staff

A high-level US-backed delegation met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday in an effort to break the impasse over President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, after Jared Kushner and other Board of Peace officials held rare direct talks with Hamas leaders in Egypt.

Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov met Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials as Washington pushes both Israel and Hamas toward implementation of the next phase of Trump’s plan.

The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday prior to the meeting that the talks were expected to center on speeding implementation of Trump’s broader 20-point Gaza framework and the newer 15-point roadmap setting out how Hamas would relinquish its weapons as Israeli forces withdraw from the Strip.

A senior Board of Peace official told the newspaper that Washington and Jerusalem agree on the ultimate objective, with “the United States and Israel agreeing on the end state: a demilitarized Hamas.”

Netanyahu publicly rejected the 15-point roadmap on August 9, objecting in particular to a process in which Israeli withdrawals would occur alongside Hamas disarmament rather than after it had been completed.

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said, insisting the IDF would not withdraw until Hamas had surrendered its weapons.

The roadmap calls for Israel and Hamas to halt military operations while Hamas and other armed groups progressively give up their weapons and Israel withdraws from Gaza.

A new Palestinian technocratic administration, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, would assume civilian governance, while an International Stabilization Force would deploy into areas vacated by Israeli troops.

The committee would also oversee the decommissioning and storage of heavy weapons, weapons-production facilities, arms depots and tunnels. Reconstruction would proceed as the security arrangements were implemented.

The Board of Peace official quoted by the Post said there can be no continued Hamas role in governing Gaza, saying, “Hamas must relinquish governing authority and all weapons and military infrastructure.”

The Jerusalem talks follow an intensive round of diplomacy in Egypt on Sunday involving Kushner, Mladenov, Blair, Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators and senior Hamas officials.

Kushner and the Board of Peace delegation met Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya in El Alamein in an unusual direct encounter intended to establish whether the group was prepared to translate its stated acceptance of the roadmap into concrete disarmament measures.

A source with direct knowledge of the talks told Axios that Hamas leaders reaffirmed their commitment to demilitarizing Gaza. The source described the discussions as “very productive,” while saying Kushner made clear that Washington wanted actions rather than declarations.

Hamas subsequently said it remained committed to the roadmap, including a permanent ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Its public statement, however, did not explicitly refer to giving up its weapons.

The terror group instead called on the mediators and Board of Peace to “compel” Israel to approve the next-stage roadmap and accused Jerusalem of failing to fulfill commitments under the existing ceasefire.

According to AP, a Hamas official said the group was waiting for all sides to approve the roadmap so that a 14-day negotiating period could begin to establish an implementation timetable.

Hamas also wants Israel to stop attacks and pull its forces back to the so-called yellow line before implementation begins.

That sequencing directly conflicts with Netanyahu’s position that Israel should not surrender territory until Hamas has already been fully disarmed.

The Board of Peace is attempting to bridge the gap through a phased system under which concrete Hamas moves toward disarmament would trigger corresponding Israeli steps.

That process would transfer governing authority to the Palestinian technocratic committee, begin dismantling Hamas’s military infrastructure, allow deployment of the International Stabilization Force and eventually enable Israeli withdrawals. Humanitarian aid and reconstruction would also be expanded as implementation advances.

Reuters reported that Israel is separately concerned about US demands that it stop targeted killings of Hamas members as part of the process.

Israel had recently scaled back operations in Gaza but has resumed some strikes, saying they were aimed at militants or immediate threats.

Kushner also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in El Alamein on Sunday. Egypt’s presidency said the two discussed Gaza and emphasized the need for all parties to meet their obligations under the ceasefire agreement reached at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in October 2025.

The diplomatic pressure on Netanyahu has also widened beyond Washington.

Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia issued a joint statement Sunday condemning Israel’s rejection of the roadmap and calling for concrete action to prevent its implementation from being blocked.