TRUMP ENVOY JARED KUSHNER MEETS HAMAS OVER GAZA PEACE PLAN: A STANDSTILL AGREEMENT

President Donald Trump’s envoy, Jared Kushner, has held a rare meeting with Hamas as Washington pushes to turn Trump’s proposed Gaza peace framework into a practical working agreement.

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Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law to US President Donald Trump, has met with Hamas officials in Egypt as part of an intensified diplomatic effort to advance Trump’s proposed peace plan for Gaza.

The meeting was held on Sunday, and the Trump administration attempted to resolve major conflicts between Israel and Hamas over the ceasefire and the political transition in Gaza.

Kushner met with Hamas’ political leader Khalil Al-Hayya. According to reports, the talks were followed by a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, in an attempt to resolve conflict with both sides.

At the centre of the discussions is Trump’s proposed 15-point roadmap for Gaza. The framework talks about an end to hostilities, the disarmament of Hamas, an Israeli military withdrawal, the establishment of a new civilian administration in Gaza, and an international role in overseeing reconstruction and the territory’s political transition.

The most prominent issue is the order in which these steps should take place. Hamas has argued that Israel should pause military operations and begin withdrawing from Gaza before the group agrees to fully disarm. Israel, meanwhile, has insisted that Hamas must be disarmed before an Israeli withdrawal can take place. Essentially the disagreement appears to be at a standstill.

At the heart of the negotiations is a simple but dangerous question: Who moves first?

Nevertheless, the Trump administration appears to be treating communication with Hamas as necessary if the proposal is to move beyond an outline and become an actual agreement.

Hamas has indicated support for some elements of Trump’s plan, while seeking assurances that Israel will meet its own obligations under any agreement. Netanyahu, however, has expressed opposition to aspects of the proposed framework, particularly provisions relating to Israeli withdrawal and Hamas’s role.

Kushner’s back-to-back meetings with Hamas and Netanyahu therefore represent an attempt to close one of the biggest gaps in the negotiations: establishing a sequence that both sides can accept.