• Eight Muslim nations hold Tel Aviv responsible for jeopardising Trump’s plan, say it bears responsibility for obstructing peace efforts
• Kushner hold talks with mediators, Hamas chief; set to meet Netanyahu today

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has joined the seven other members of the Muslim bloc — working to secure peace in Gaza — in condemning Israel’s rejection of Palestinian statehood and the road map for completing the implementation of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the besieged enclave.

Last week, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza, stating that no military pull-out will happen until Hamas is “genuinely” disarmed.

But despite Hamas agreeing to “complete disarmament”, the group maintained that handing over its heavy weapons was contingent on Israel ending “all forms of aggression” and withdrawing its forces from Gaza.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the foreign ministries of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates said that Tel Aviv’s position “amount to a direct repudiation of the Comprehensive Plan, jeopardise its implementation, and fundamentally undermine the collective efforts undertaken to achieve a just and lasting peace”.

“Such rejection confirms that Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the statement said.

The joint statement came as President Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner, met with Hamas’ new leader in Egypt in a push to revive the peace plan rejected by Israel.

Two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump’s Gaza plan, Kushner pressed for verifiable disarmament, a key Israeli demand.

Kushner called for “concrete, verifiable steps” and relayed a message that “Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel”, AFP quoted a source as saying.

Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya took part in the discussions in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Alamein, making his first trip since assuming leadership of the group in July.

A picture released by host Egypt did not include al-Hayya, but showed Kushner at a table alongside other members of Trump’s so-called Board of Peace, including former British prime minister Tony Blair. Qatar and Turkey, key mediators alongside Egypt, also joined.

Kushner is expected to meet Netanyahu today (Monday), a hawk who faces a tough re-election fight in October.

Reaction to Israeli refusal

Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Gaza since agreeing to an initial ceasefire in the territory last October.

“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting last weekend.

The Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens”, he added.

In response, the eight-nation Muslim bloc — which includes three of the countries acting as mediators — said “the road map, which has been accepted by the Palestinian factions, is the conclusion of extensive efforts”.

It “constitutes a vital milestone for the decommissioning of weapons concurrently with the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the deployment of the International Stabilisation Force, the transfer of the administrative authority” to the national committee for the administration and reconstruction of Gaza, as stipulated in the plan.

“Rejecting the road map constitutes an explicit refusal to proceed with the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, and directly threatens to derail the extensive efforts exerted by US President Trump to bring an end to the war in Gaza and establish the conditions for lasting peace,” the joint statement said.

“In this regard, the ministers underscore the importance of sustained and active US engagement to ensure and enforce Israel’s full compliance with the commitments and arrangements envisaged under the Comprehensive Plan and its Road Map, and to prevent further obstruction of their implementation. They further stress that Israel bears direct and full responsibility for any consequences resulting from its continued rejection, obstruction, delay or non-compliance, including any resulting deterioration of the situation on the ground and disruption of ending the war in Gaza.”

“The ministers reaffirm the urgent need for the full and immediate implementation of the Comprehensive Plan in order to address the grave humanitarian situation, ensure security and stability for all in Gaza, and pave the way for reconstruction and recovery and advancing a just and lasting peace grounded in the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood in accordance with international law, thereby paving the way for security and stability for all countries and peoples of the region.

“They categorically reject any attempt to deny or foreclose Palestinian statehood including through unilateral actions. A just, lasting and comprehensive peace only will be achieved by the implementation of two-state solution, by the realisation of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. Any attempt to deny or foreclose Palestinian statehood therefore directly undermines the prospects for peace, security and stability throughout the region.

“The ministers underscore the importance of the continued role of the Board of Peace and call all parties to support its efforts for the implementation of the road map and advancing the second phase of President Trump’s comprehensive plan. The ministers further call upon the Board of Peace, with the active support and engagement of the United States, to take immediate and concrete measures within its mandate to uphold the integrity of the comprehensive plan and prevent any party from obstructing its implementation.”

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026