Kushner: Hamas disarmament could start in 30 days
‘Progress could come quite soon but we do need cooperation from both sides.’
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‘Progress could come quite soon but we do need cooperation from both sides.’
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WASHINGTON (AFP) — Progress toward disarming Hamas and advancing a US-backed Gaza peace plan could emerge within about a month, President Donald Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner said Monday.
“We could be seeing progress... in as little as 30 days, hopefully starting to take some of the weapons out,” Kushner told Fox News while in Tel Aviv.
Kushner said filling tunnels built by Hamas for military operations and smuggling could begin within 60 to 90 days.
“Progress could come quite soon but we do need cooperation from both sides,” he said.
Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, said he met for nearly four hours with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and addressed Israeli concerns over the plan.
“There were some valid concerns” on the Israeli side, he said.
Kushner said the Trump administration would support rebuilding Gaza, but only after Hamas is demilitarized.
“But we will not allow Gaza to be rebuilt until the demilitarization occurs. Nobody wants to put more money into a place... if it’s just going to be taken over by terrorists,” he said.
He also said the United States would not restrict Israel’s right to defend itself against imminent threats.
“For Israel we think it’s a win-win situation,” Kushner said.
He said Hamas could disarm “willingly over the next 60 to 90 days” or “Israel will have a lot more support from the US and others to go and finish the job in the appropriate way.”
Kushner said he had a “very cordial” meeting with Hamas officials but added, “it’s very, very hard to trust a terrorist organization.”
