A Peace Council official told Asharq on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and council members held “in-depth and constructive” discussions on moving toward the full implementation of Trump’s plan for Gaza.
They agreed to establish two working groups, one focused on disarmament and demilitarisation and the other on public health issues.
The official said the discussions concluded with an agreement that Israeli forces would not redeploy in Gaza until Hamas had been fully disarmed and the entire territory demilitarised, including the removal of light and heavy weapons and tunnels.
All weapons collected will be dismantled and rendered permanently unusable, the official said, adding that Israel would retain what he described as its “full right to self-defence,” including taking action if Hamas resorts to violence or attempts to rearm.
According to the official, the Peace Council told Netanyahu that Hamas had committed to fully disarming and immediately halting all military activity in Gaza, including rearmament and tunnel construction.
Netanyahu, in turn, confirmed that Israel would fulfil its outstanding commitments after the United States helped secure the release of all remaining hostages, both living and deceased, the official said.
Security and public health
The official said the two sides agreed to immediately establish two joint working groups. The first will handle security, disarmament and the demilitarisation of Gaza, while the second will focus on sanitation, clean water and other public health issues affecting residents of the territory.
Israel and the Peace Council insist that Gaza’s demilitarisation be completed “fully and rapidly,” the official said, adding that, with Trump’s support, the two sides share the goal of creating a demilitarised and de-radicalised territory that poses no threat to Israel and where residents can live in dignity, peace and prosperity.
According to sources who spoke to Reuters and the Associated Press, Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump envoy Jared Kushner lasted several hours and was attended by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Peace Council’s senior representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov.
Direct meeting with Hamas in Cairo
The Jerusalem meeting followed a meeting between Kushner and Hamas political bureau chief Khalil Al-Hayya in Cairo on Sunday, attended by Mladenov, Blair and officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.
It was Kushner’s second known meeting with Hamas representatives, following talks with Hamas officials alongside US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in October 2025 that contributed to the ceasefire and hostage-release agreement, according to Reuters.
Axios quoted a source familiar with the talks as saying Hamas leaders reaffirmed their commitment to disarm and demilitarise Gaza, while Kushner called on them to take concrete steps.
The requested steps include handing administration of the territory to a Palestinian technocratic government, ensuring Hamas has no future role in governing Gaza, and relinquishing its weapons and military infrastructure, the source said.
Hamas said in a statement following the meeting that it had agreed to the roadmap for the second phase, which includes a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal, continued humanitarian aid and the start of reconstruction.
Dispute over sequencing
Trump said in July that Hamas had agreed to gradually disarm under a 15-point roadmap proposed by the Peace Council to implement his broader 20-point plan.
The roadmap calls for Hamas’ disarmament to take place alongside a gradual Israeli military withdrawal. Netanyahu rejected the formula earlier in August, however, insisting that Israeli forces would not withdraw until Hamas was fully disarmed.
Hamas, meanwhile, said implementation of its agreement to the roadmap depended on Israel first fulfilling its commitments, including halting attacks and withdrawing from Gaza. During the Cairo meeting, Al-Hayya also called for an end to Israeli attacks and the return of Israeli forces to what is known as the “Yellow Line” before implementation begins, according to the Associated Press.
A Peace Council official described the Kushner-Netanyahu meeting as “lengthy, in-depth and highly productive,” saying the two sides had agreed on a path forward in Gaza.
Reuters, however, quoted an Israeli official as saying the meeting failed to produce a breakthrough on the dispute over military redeployment. Netanyahu maintained that Israeli forces should remain at the line specified in the October agreement and continue operations Israel considers necessary.
Despite the announcement of the two working groups, neither side disclosed a timeline for disarmament, a mechanism for verification and implementation, or when Israeli forces would begin redeploying and reconstruction of the territory would start.
