Hamas called on the U.S.-led Board of Peace on Sunday to pressure Israel into carrying out what the terror group says are its obligations under President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, issuing the demand following high-level talks in Egypt with White House envoy Jared Kushner.
In a public statement released after the discussions, Hamas said it had urged the countries mediating the agreement and the Board of Peace to “compel the occupation to implement all its obligations under the first phase, end all violations, halt killings and incursions, [and] approve the roadmap for the second phase” of the Washington-brokered ceasefire framework.
The statement followed reports earlier Sunday detailing Kushner’s meeting in Cairo with senior Hamas officials, where the White House adviser pushed the terror organization to begin translating its commitment to disarm into action.
The Cairo meeting represented Kushner’s first direct talks with Hamas leaders since the agreement aimed at ending the Gaza war was signed last October. The Trump administration and its Board of Peace are currently seeking to move Israel and Hamas from the initial stage of Trump’s 20-point Gaza framework into its second phase.
Kushner was joined at the meeting by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, an executive member of the Board of Peace, and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board’s high representative.
Hamas was represented by its political leader Khalil al-Hayya. Also participating in the discussions were Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi, Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad and a senior Turkish official.
A source familiar with the negotiations said one of the central purposes of the Cairo talks was to move beyond Hamas’s stated promises regarding the demilitarization of Gaza and establish concrete steps that could be independently verified.
Kushner is expected to travel to Israel on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. According to a source who spoke to Axios, those discussions will focus on the “corresponding steps” Israel would be expected to implement as the process advances.
Officials familiar with the diplomatic effort said the message being delivered to Israel now differs from previous rounds of negotiations. According to the White House approach, the existing framework is no longer up for renegotiation or revision; instead, the focus has shifted toward implementing commitments that have already been made.
One official familiar with the negotiations said the objective is to “translate the roadmap commitments into concrete and verifiable steps.”
The Trump administration is reportedly seeking measurable progress in several areas, including an end to Israeli military strikes in Gaza, an IDF withdrawal toward the Yellow Line, a major expansion of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, and progress toward establishing new governing institutions and beginning civilian reconstruction.
{Matzav.com}
