Gaza Plan: Trump Envoy Kushner Meets Hamas Leaders

This is disastrous.

We have now recognized Hamas as a political entity with which we can legitimately negotiate instead of treating it as a murderous terrorist group of Islamic killers that needs to be utterly destroyed for its continuous crimes against humanity of which it is so proud.

We have allowed ourselves to be played for fools in much the same way as the P.L.O. played us for decades. Just look at the list of Israel-bashers sitting at the negotiating table.

Kushner and Witkoff are stunningly incompetent and DT has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. It is an epic failure of American resolve that guarantees more conflict in the region.

Gaza peace plan: Trump envoy Kushner meets Hamas leaders as 8 Muslim countries blame Israel for delaying peace

By:  Israpundit, August 17, 2026

Peloni:  If this report is correct, we should take note of the willingness of Trump to accept a complete reshuffling of the agreement while holding Netanyahu to his commitment “in principle” for having in fact agreed to the original plan as described in UNSC Resolution 2803.  Netanyahu should never have agreed to that original plan, but he certainly should not be compelled to agree to the subsequent radically changed plan based on those original assurances.  The willingness of the US to hold Israel responsible for these altered terms while knowing that these terms completely erase the need for Hamas to be initially disbanded and disarmed demonstrates the lack of seriousness for the required outcome.  Also, while the US is insisting that Hamas will have no role in Gaza going forward, Jarad Kushner found it important to raise Hamas to having been fully recognized by the US diplomatically while giving them full authority to negotiate the terms under which Gaza will be ruled going forward, which wasn’t even true in the lead up to the terms included in UNSCR 2803.   The obvious next step is to threaten Israel with the loss of “diplomatic backing” for failing to fulfill the terms it never agreed to accept.  Netanyahu should stand his ground and insist upon the original terms.  This retreat by the US demonstrates a loss of credibility with both its allies and its enemies whiles still holding firm to its need to pretend that a meaningful deal is being enforced.  Hamas must be fully disarmed or destroyed, and the Strip must be fully demilitarized prior to Israeli withdrawal.  If this fails to be the case, it will only serve to damage Israeli security and American credibility going forward.