Netanyahu, Kushner agree US general to verify Hamas disarmament before Israel withdraws from Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner agreed on Monday that an American general would verify Hamas's disarmament, an Israeli official said, as the premier insisted there would be no pullout from Gaza until then. The understanding marks a new attempt by President Donald Trump's administration to satisfy Israel after Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, publicly rejected the latest part of a US plan aimed at ending the devastating Gaza war. Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a longtime family friend of Netanyahu, met the Israeli leader in Jerusalem a day after holding rare direct talks in Egypt with Hamas, which has publicly committed itself to the plan. Read moreKushner, Hamas delegation in Egypt for talks on Gaza peace plan The two sides "agreed that no redeployment or reconstruction would take place in the Gaza Strip before Hamas is disarmed throughout Gaza", a senior Israeli official told AFP. "It was also agreed that the first step toward the demilitarisation of the Strip would be to require Hamas to hand over its weapons for decommissioning under the supervision of an American general," the official said. A roadmap agreed by Hamas on July 30 said tha...