Yedioth Ahronoth: Egypt ties Hamas disarmament to a new Israeli government - Sarmad
In a notable development during Jared Kushner’s visit to Cairo, Israeli media revealed a firm stance linking the disarmament of Hamas to the formation of a new Israeli government.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Egyptian officials assured their American counterparts that the only way to compel Hamas to disarm would be through the formation of Israel’s next government.
The newspaper clarified that these remarks were made during meetings held by Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, in Egypt.
It added that Egyptian officials emphasized there was no hope for any progress or achievement with the current Israeli government, warning that Hamas would continue to strengthen and consolidate its position.
It stated that the only path to tangible progress in the situation in the Gaza Strip lay in engaging with a new Israeli government to be elected following upcoming elections.
It noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a four-hour meeting with Kushner on Monday in an attempt to reach a final framework to end the war in Gaza. The talks began bilaterally, with Peace Council chairman Nikolai Mladenoff, Tony Blair, and other representatives joining later.
It pointed out that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and other regional countries had jointly condemned Israel’s rejection of Trump’s plan for the Strip in a statement issued the previous day.
It added that the statement, also signed by Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, and Turkey, affirmed that Israel bore responsibility for delaying peace efforts in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, and that rejecting the plan could undermine Trump’s efforts to end the war.
The Israeli newspaper explained that following Kushner’s meeting in Egypt with Hamas officials, both Kushner and Mladenoff rejected the movement’s proposal to store weapons, insisting that Hamas surrender its arms and dismantle its infrastructure.
It noted that Kushner assured Hamas leaders that the organization’s weapons would leave the Gaza Strip and would not be stored there—a report that has not yet been confirmed and contradicts earlier reports suggesting the possibility of storing the organization’s weapons within the Strip. Meanwhile, Israel insisted on their complete removal from its territory to ensure they do not reach Hamas or other armed factions again.
These remarks come amid intensive diplomatic efforts led by the U.S. administration to find a way out of the war in Gaza, with Egypt playing a pivotal role in these mediation efforts.
Egypt’s hardline stance toward the current Israeli government is linked to Cairo’s assessment that continuing current policies will hinder any permanent solution, prompting Egyptian diplomacy to push for changes in the political landscape as a precondition for any real progress on disarmament and reconstruction.
