Arlene Kushner | August 21, 2026
Khalil al-Hayya in 2022. Photo by Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia
This past Sunday, Jared Kushner, Trump’s trusted advisor and son-in-law, met in Egypt with Khalil al-Hayya (pictured), the Hamas political bureau chief replacing Sinwar. Jared was accompanied by Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blair, of the Board of Peace, as well as diplomats from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey (all identified as “mediator” states).
Al-Hayya is hardline, with close ties to Iran and the Hamas military. The fact that he was recently selected by the Hamas Shura Council over a more pragmatic Khalid Meshaal reveals a good deal about where Hamas is headed. It is not in the direction of moderation, be certain.
When I read reports of this meeting I was livid.
The mere fact that the meeting had taken place conferred upon Hamas a level of legitimacy and international recognition that is unacceptable. Kushner and company are conducting themselves as if there are two adversaries pushing for acceptance of their respective positions – as if there were an “impasse” that might be brought closer to resolution if there were meetings with both sides. (The day after meeting Al-Hayya, Kushner was in Jerusalem meeting Netanyahu.)
Could it be that the Americans – Kushner and his father-in-law Trump alike – have forgotten why the current situation exists? Hamas perpetrated the horrendous massacre of October 7. Full stop.
Israel initiated the war that followed in order to take down Hamas. This was proper: It was an existential war – a righteous war, what we call milchemet mitzva, mandatory because there was a real threat to Israel. Hamas had said they were going to do another October 7, and another. Their goal, spoken out loud, was the destruction of Israel.
Despite the volume of lies, the libels, directed at Israel regarding “genocide” and starvation of children, the fact is that Israel fought with scrupulous care to minimize civilian deaths, at the same time that Hamas utilized Gazan citizens as human shields.
The testimonies of military men who have studied the situation – such as (ret.) Col. Richard Kemp of Britain and (ret.) Major John Spencer of West Point in the US, researcher of urban warfare (pictured) – attest to the fact that the IDF exercised great caution in battle.
Spencer (cited here by Netanyahu) asserted that:
“In the Gaza war, Israel has demonstrated a historically low combatant-to-civilian casualty ratio (1:1.5 or 1:1) when compared to any urban warfare history…”
“Israel has implemented more civilian harm mitigation measures than any military in history…”
https://x.com/netanyahu/status/2013660256606261421?lang=en
More by Spencer: https://spencerguard.sp/the-top-7-lies-about-israel-and-idf
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While Trump was certainly supportive during the early days of the war, we might ponder whether he (or Kushner) fully grasped the truth regarding the manner in which the IDF fought and the righteousness of our war. A transactionalist who favors short wars, he was caught up in a complex and high-pressure political scenario. We knew what we faced going in: The world never wants Israel to win a war.
It is clear that neither Trump nor Kushner ever fully understood the situation: They did not comprehend the mindset of jihadists when the war began and they do not today. And Hamas is jihadist.
Failure to fully grasp what this means leads to a misreading of the situation.
Jihadists are patient and pursue their agenda without let up: And let us keep our minds focused on the fact that their agenda of taking out Israel has not changed. They do not moderate (although they may pretend to do so) and do not compromise. They will make a commitment with full intent of breaking it. They lie without compunction.
To hold a meeting with Hamas such as the one Kushner engaged in this week was, in my opinion, an exercise in futility. (I will come back to this.) And dangerous to boot, because it deflects from a more constructive approach to dealing with a critical situation.
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Last October, Trump advanced a 20-point plan that called for a cessation of conflict in Gaza. Both Israel and Hamas agreed in principle, but the plan was convoluted, exceedingly ambitious and lacking necessary particulars.
Gaza was to be temporarily governed by “a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee.” A new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace” chaired by Trump, would provide oversight and supervision.
Ultimately, Israel was expected to withdraw from Gaza, while Trump, for his part, was focused on doing Gaza reconstruction. These plans going forward, however, were dependent upon the demilitarization of Gaza. Hamas had to be disarmed.
The question of how this was to be achieved was much debated. The international community was opposed to Israeli involvement in this matter, but the reality is that IDF is the only force willing and able to take this on.
As David Weinberg put it: “…none of the presumed peacekeepers, observers, verifiers, vetters, stabilizers, and guarantors are going to actually, militarily, kinetically confront Hamas…gunmen. Never ever, none of them, not with a single bullet, never mind with a company of commandos.”
https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/color-me-skeptical/
Think about this for a moment. If the only army capable of taking out Hamas is prevented from doing so, what does this say about the international commitment to finishing this terrorist group? And what does it tell us about international reluctance to acknowledging Israel’s role as a major power in the Mid-East?
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A number of approaches for disarmament have been advanced: turning weapons over to a Palestinian police force; buying back weapons; requiring surrender only of major military equipment with small weapons to be retained for self-defense; “decommissioning” weapons rather than actually destroying them; storing the weapons in Gaza for possible use at a future time.
The bottom line is that Hamas may make statements pledging disarmament but is not going to voluntarily disarm. This is not only because of intent to go after Israel. Hamas seeks to retain control inside of Gaza, which means acting against other militias.
In February, Hamas strengthened its control over Gaza, when the group appointed five district governors with ties to Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, its military wing.
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“Four Israeli defense officials told Reuters in May that Hamas was rebuilding its forces and manufacturing weapons during the ceasefire.”
https://honestreporting.com/hamas-says-it-will-disarm-its-actions-tell-another-story/
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The IDF on Thursday revealed intelligence indicating that Hamas is exploiting Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis to interrogate and torture Gaza residents, as the terrorist organization intensifies efforts to maintain its control over the population.
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Israel currently maintains a presence in roughly 60% of Gaza, to the east, along a yellow line that was established in October, and has no intention of withdrawing from that line under present circumstances.
This situation affords Israel a significant presence inside Gaza. It provides a critical buffer between Hamas and civilians in Israel adjacent to Gaza. It serves as a vantage point for close monitoring of Hamas actions and enables a speedy response when Hamas threats are discerned.
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At the end of July, Trump announced a new 15-point plan for Gaza. It was represented as the next step – a roadmap – following the first plan, with particulars necessary for implementation. There have been suggestions, however, that Trump was attempting to draw international attention away from the conflict with Iran.
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But this time, Prime Minister Netanyahu said no to the 15-point plan, which called for Israel to begin to withdraw from Gaza as soon as Hamas begins to disarm. Said Netanyahu:
“The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed. And when I say Hamas must be disarmed, I mean the heavy weapons, the less-heavy weapons, all weapons. And we are talking about genuine disarmament, not a fictitious one.”
Additionally, Netanyahu has ruled out initial steps toward reconstruction before disarmament is completed.
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In an interview this week, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee – who indeed does get it – asked rhetorically:
“…So how many guns have they given up? How many? Can you give me a number? Well, the number is zero. Not a pistol, not a rifle, not one, not even so much as a slingshot…”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432003
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Why then did Trump say on August 17 that, “They [Hamas] are giving up their guns”? He was making the critical error of confusing a statement from Hamas with reality. Predicated on the assumption that Hamas would be giving up their guns, he demanded that Israel cease all strikes in Gaza.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/431826
The onus is being put on Israel. Hamas, which has verbally agreed to disarm, represents themselves as the ones who are cooperating. They must be laughing all the way to an inspection of their arms cache.
I will note here that under this new plan, disarmament means weapons are to be “decommissioned and stored” after the establishment of a “technocratic” government staffed by people who have been vetted by the likes of Hamas backers Qatar and Turkey. These weapons would be available to Hamas in the future.
https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/color-me-skeptical/
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One source of tension between Israel and the US is with regard to when it would be acceptable for Israel to operate against Hamas. The key phrase is “imminent threat,” which presumably means seeing members of Hamas on the other side of the Yellow Line preparing an attack. Netanyahu, however, insisted that the IDF absolutely must have the latitude to target Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre. Kushner did not agree.
According to one report from CNN, Kushner warned Netanyahu not to “create obstacles” to the plan for peace. This apparently happened during Kushner’s four-hour visit with Netanyahu on Monday.
Kushner sparred with Netanyahu over targeted killing of October 7 terrorists – report
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Let us return here to Mike Huckabee, who sought to explain why Kushner met with Hamas. He was delivering a stern ultimatum, said the ambassador.
The message delivered to Hamas was that the organization is expected to fulfill its commitments under the peace plan, including disarming and demilitarizing Gaza, he explained: “I don’t think people should be alarmed or as upset as they should be grateful that we’re sending the message to their faces and making it clear that this is just not something that is being said and maybe, I don’t know, possibly gently said. It was boldly said and forthrightly said to them, ‘Your time is up.'”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/432003
And I am sorry, Mike, but I don’t buy it. An ultimatum carries consequences. Precisely what consequences did Kushner warn Hamas of? And why should Hamas be concerned if Kushner was accompanied by representatives of the friendly nations of Turkey, Egypt and Qatar?
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And speaking of Turkey, Egypt and Qatar, these nations put out a statement on Thursday:
“The intensification of Israeli attacks undermines regional and international efforts at a critical juncture, as intensive efforts are under way to implement the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict… constructive steps are being taken in the negotiation process.”
Parse this, my friends, and you have an accurate picture of what Trump is advancing in Gaza. There is a “negotiation process”. Not a process aimed at removing the threat of Hamas terrorism from Gaza. Precisely as I described the meeting, above.
The goal is to “end the conflict,” and I must ask what the hell that means. It means conditions are being set up for a period of quiet, even if Hamas is still standing (and Hamas, under this plan, will certainly be standing), so that Trump can announce his achievement of having brought “peace” to Gaza. It means Israel’s firing on Hamas must be stopped so there is no open or apparent conflict. Taking out Hamas requires open military conflict.
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To continue to stand his ground, Bibi needs a spine of steel. There will be complexities and understandings that don’t reach the public eye, because none of this is simple.
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I ask, as I always do, that you please pray. Pray hard for Israel’s strength.
©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
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