White House adviser Jared Kushner secured Israeli support Monday for moving ahead with the Board of Peace’s effort to demilitarize the Gaza Strip, with Israel agreeing to form working groups on Hamas disarmament and humanitarian needs in Gaza.

The agreement followed a more than four-hour meeting in Jerusalem involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kushner, Board of Peace Director-General Nickolay Mladenov, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. “It was agreed to establish two working groups, one on disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza, which both Israel and the Board of Peace are determined should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction happens in Gaza,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. A second working group will focus on sanitation, clean water and other public health issues for the people of Gaza.

Hamas’s Position and Key Sticking Points

The Jerusalem talks came a day after Kushner met Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in Cairo. According to The Times of Israel, Hamas said it would begin disarming only if Netanyahu publicly committed to the Board of Peace framework.

The development follows Netanyahu’s rejection last week of the Board of Peace’s 15-point framework, with the prime minister insisting Israel would not withdraw forces until Hamas had surrendered all its weapons. CNN reported Monday that the Board of Peace and Netanyahu agreed there would be no Israeli military redeployment until Hamas is fully disarmed and Gaza demilitarized, including the destruction of tunnels.

Details of the Disarmament Plan

The Jerusalem Post, citing a source familiar with the talks, reported Israel and the U.S. also reached an understanding on how the first stage of disarmament would work. Weapons surrendered by Hamas would be transferred to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the proposed Palestinian technocratic government, and the International Stabilization Force. U.S. Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, who heads the stabilization force, would oversee the weapons transfers.

Israeli officials also said reconstruction would not begin until Hamas is fully disarmed and that Israel had not agreed to halt targeted operations against Hamas or reduce its troop presence in Gaza.

White House Optimism

A Board of Peace official described the discussions as “lengthy, in depth, and very productive.” “We agreed with the PM on a path forward,” the official told the Washington Examiner. “The Israelis are going to give this a chance. Now it’s up to Hamas to show if it truly intends to comply.”

President Donald Trump suggested Monday that progress was underway. “We have our own relationship with Hamas. They are giving up their guns,” Trump told Fox News. The Board of Peace has said it will take time to demilitarize Gaza and establish technocratic governance, with an official previously telling the Examiner that implementing the 15-point plan could take between 200 and 350 days.