Kushner and Netanyahu agree to form working groups to advance the disarmament of Gaza

The United States and Israel launched joint working groups aimed at resolving the most contentious issue in the peace plan for Gaza: the exact terms of Hamas's disarmament. The decision came out of a meeting in Jerusalem between Donald Trump's advisor, Jared Kushner, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to a report by POLITICO, the Peace Board—the body tasked with overseeing the process—confirmed in a statement that Israel will not withdraw its troops from Gaza: "It was agreed that there will be no Israeli Defense Forces redeployment from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed and all of Gaza is demilitarized—every weapon, light and heavy, and every tunnel." That interpretation aligns with the Israeli position, which is stricter than the interpretation that Hamas claims to have accepted when it signed the roadmap published this month.

An official with direct knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to POLITICO that Peace Board envoy Nickolay Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair also participated in the meeting. The White House and the State Department referred inquiries about the meeting to the Board itself.

A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told POLITICO that he noticed a specific difference between what his organization signed and what the Board is now proposing. While the roadmap referred to "storage of heavy weapons," Monday's statement calls for the complete dismantling of all weapons—both light and heavy—as well as the tunnels. Netanyahu had already anticipated that demand last week, warning that Israel would not withdraw from the enclave without "genuine" disarmament.

Robert Danin, a former State Department official and former member of the Blair Quartet Mission in Jerusalem, questioned POLITICO about the feasibility of the demand: "It requires the removal of every pistol and every tunnel before Israel withdraws from Gaza. And presumably the discovery of either would be grounds for Israel to halt or perhaps not begin to withdraw from Gaza."

Kushner arrived in Jerusalem a day after meeting in Cairo with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya.