Israel, August 17 – US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner has arrived in Israel and is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday as Washington pushes to advance its Gaza peace plan.
Kushner’s visit comes shortly after he held rare talks with Hamas in Egypt over implementing the US backed plan for Gaza. A Palestinian official told the BBC that Kushner met a Hamas delegation led by its new leader Khalil al-Hayya, on Sunday.
The meeting was reportedly attended by Board of Peace envoy Nikolay Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair along with representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey which have been mediating efforts to establish peace in Gaza.
Last month, Trump’s Board of Peace said an agreement had been reached on the “full disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. However Israel rejected Trump’s 15-point peace plan last week.
The plan calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza and proposes reconstruction under a new civilian Palestinian administration.
Eight Muslim-majority countries condemned Israel on Sunday for rejecting the proposal.
Kushner’s meeting with al-Hayya is being viewed as their first high-level encounter since a Gaza ceasefire agreement was reached last year, adding significance to his latest diplomatic mission.
