CAIRO, Egypt: US President Donald Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner discussed the US President’s plan for Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday, hours after Hamas chief Khalil El-Hayya met with Cairo’s spymaster.
Kushner and El-Hayya, both in the Mediterranean city of El-Alamein, held separate talks on the implementation of Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza, which has largely been stalled since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was declared last October.
The ceasefire slowed, but never completely stopped, Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territory, and a recently released roadmap for the next phase of the plan involves two of its thorniest prospects — Hamas’s disarmament and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory.
The meeting between Kushner and Sisi “emphasised the need for all parties to fulfill their obligations under the Gaza Strip ceasefire agreement”, according to presidential spokesperson Mohamed El-Shennawy.
Kushner is set to travel next to Israel, which publicly rejected the 15-point roadmap after Hamas had already agreed to it.
The Hamas delegation, in a meeting with Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, “reaffirmed commitment to completing US President Donald Trump’s plan”.
Hamas had said in late July that it was ready to hand over its weapons to a Palestinian technical committee set to govern Gaza, as part of the roadmap announced by Trump’s Board of Peace.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the plan, vowing there would be no withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza until the full disarmament of Hamas.
A Hamas official had told AFP the talks would cover “the latest developments in the negotiations and the efforts being made to compel Israel to abide by the agreement, which includes the 15-point roadmap, and to begin its implementation”.
“The delegation will brief Egyptian officials on Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, and Hayya will emphasise the movement’s commitment and readiness to implement the agreement as soon as Israel announces its commitment to it.”
Another Hamas source told AFP that a meeting was being arranged between the Hamas delegation, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov, and US officials during Kushner’s visit to Egypt this week to discuss obstacles to the agreement.
The source added that contacts were underway with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators “to compel Israel to abide by the agreement”.
