US negotiator and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with the Hamas chief on Sunday in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire, the AP reports. Kushner will meet on Monday with Israel's prime minister, who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, US-backed road map. The talks aim to salvage the plan for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory shattered by war. Kushner's meeting with the Hamas leader aimed at ensuring the militant group's commitment to the road map, particularly disarmament, before his meeting with Netanyahu, a regional official said.
The more than two-hour meeting in Egypt with Hamas' Khalil al-Hayya was confirmed by that official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. Kushner was one of a trio of envoys meeting with al-Hayya, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey also there. Hamas in a statement later called on mediators and the US-created Board of Peace overseeing the ceasefire to "compel" Israel to approve the road map for next steps.
Kushner, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and the Board of Peace director, Nickolay Mladenov, are to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting. The Hamas official said the group is committed and waiting for mediators to start the 14-day negotiation period to work out a timetable for implementation. That period requires all parties' approval of the road map to begin.
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