A Key Summit in Jerusalem
US Special Envoy Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, August 17, 2026, in Jerusalem for a high-level push to unblock the Gaza peace plan promoted by US President Donald Trump. The meeting, which lasted more than four hours, also included the director of the Peace Council, Nickolay Mladenov, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
According to Netanyahu's office, the meeting began around 11:00 AM local time (8:00 AM GMT) and focused on advancing the plan's implementation. An Israeli source familiar with the talks told CNN that Kushner pressed Netanyahu to "not put obstacles" in the way of the Trump-backed plan.
"It was agreed that there will be no redeployment of the Israel Defense Forces out of Gaza until Hamas is completely disarmed and all of Gaza is demilitarized: all weapons, light and heavy, and all tunnels," a Peace Council official said after the meeting.
The 15-Point Plan and Netanyahu's Rejection
Trump's peace plan, presented in late July, calls for the disarmament of Hamas and all armed groups in Gaza, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the establishment of an International Stabilization Force. However, on August 9, Netanyahu publicly rejected the 15-point document, demanding Hamas's complete disarmament before any Israeli withdrawal.
The main dispute revolves around the order of steps: Hamas demands an Israeli withdrawal before handing over weapons, while Israel insists on staying in the Strip until it is fully demilitarized. According to an Israeli source, Netanyahu said moving forward with the plan was "problematic" due to the upcoming Israeli elections, scheduled for October 27, 2026.
The Meeting with Hamas in Egypt
A day earlier, on Sunday, August 16, Kushner met in the Egyptian city of El-Alamein with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya—an unusual encounter given that the United States classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization. Mladenov and representatives from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, who act as mediators, also participated in that meeting.
During the meeting, Kushner asked Hamas to take "concrete and verifiable measures" and conveyed the message that "Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel." For its part, Hamas reaffirmed its commitment to the plan and asked mediators to "force" Israel to approve the roadmap and establish a timeline for its implementation.
International Pressure on Israel
The Jerusalem meeting comes after eight countries—Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Indonesia—issued a joint statement blaming Israel for obstructing the peace process. "Israel bears direct and full responsibility for the obstacles to the peace process," the countries said, noting that Israel's refusal "directly threatens to derail the broad efforts" promoted by Trump.
Netanyahu's Likud party responded by accusing the Arab countries of seeking the prime minister's removal from government in the upcoming elections.
Israel's Security as a Central Point
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met with Kushner and Mladenov on Monday at his residence in Jerusalem. Herzog said he was "impressed" that Israel's security interests are a central point of the plan. "I was impressed that Israel's security interests are an important and central element of your plan," he wrote on his X account.
After the meeting with Netanyahu, the prime minister's office announced that Israel and the Peace Council would create a joint working group on the disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza, and another to provide sanitation, drinking water, and other basic resources to the Strip.
Context: The War and the Ceasefire
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas's attack on Israel killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. The ceasefire, mediated by the United States, took effect on October 10, 2025 and allowed for the release of Israeli hostages.
However, violence has not completely stopped. According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 1,262 Palestinians have died since the ceasefire took effect. The figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. The Israeli military, for its part, reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period.
On Sunday, Israeli aircraft struck a home west of Nuseirat, wounding several people, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. The Israeli military said it responded to a threat from Islamic Jihad operatives.
What's Next?
The Peace Council informed Netanyahu that Hamas agreed to disarm and end its military activity in Gaza. In exchange, Netanyahu said Israel would "fulfill its pending commitments," although a senior Israeli official said Israel would not end targeted killings of Hamas commanders.
"The Israelis are going to give this a chance," a Peace Council official said. "Now it's up to Hamas to prove whether it really intends to comply."
With Israeli elections on October 27 on the horizon and growing international pressure, the future of Trump's peace plan for Gaza remains uncertain, but Monday's meeting marks a concrete step in the negotiations.