TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted US President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner in Jerusalem on Monday as a US-backed plan for the governance of the Gaza Strip remained stalled.
The meeting, which comes a day after Kushner met with Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya in Cairo, Egypt, was also attended by Trump's Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to media reports.
Earlier this month, Netanyahu publicly rejected a Trump proposal which would have seen the militant group Hamas disarm and Israeli troops withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
Trump had said the agreement would be carried out in phases, with Israeli forces gradually replaced in the devastated Palestinian territory by an "International Stabilization Force" which would work alongside a new Palestinian police force.
Hamas has said it agreed to the plan but the deal has stalled, with Netanyahu insisting that Israel's military will only withdraw once Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza have been completely disarmed.
Israeli troops continue to occupy about 60% of the enclave and Netanyahu has previously threatened to advance further.
Netanyahu is struggling in the polls ahead of an October 27 general election, with some surveys putting him behind centrist challenger Gadi Eisenkot.
Israeli minister calls for more 'targeted killings' in Gaza
Monday's meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner comes after Israel's national security minister called for dozens more Palestinians to be killed "every night" in "targeted killings" in the Gaza Strip.
Far-right hardliner Itamar Ben-Gvir made the remarks in a podcast with a former Gaza hostage which went live on Saturday evening.
"I think that targeted killings should be carried out in Gaza, removing 30, 40 people every night," he said, specifying that he was not only referring to members of militant groups.
"Not just those who pose an immediate threat; there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn't live. They're not even people."
Ben-Gvir is the chairman of the "Otzma Yehudit" ("Jewish Power") party and a member of Netanyahu's government, but he said he disagrees with the prime minister's plans for post-war Gaza.
Meanwhile, Iran's deputy foreign minister condemned the comments in a post on social media on Monday morning.
"This Zionist criminal speaks at the same time of expelling Palestinians and of settlement construction across the entire Gaza Strip," wrote Kazem Gharibabadi. "These confessions must be recorded and preserved for the day of reckoning and for the trial of these criminals."
In the past, similar statements by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials have been presented to the UN's world court as evidence of genocidal intent. Israel denies that its actions in Gaza constitute genocide.
Read: Regional Powers Condemn Israel's Rejection of Gaza Plan
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
