Jared Kushner, representing the United States government, recently met in Egypt with Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s overall leader, a former deputy to Yahya Sinwar who was connected to preparations for the October 7 massacre.

Al-Hayya did not condemn October 7. He praised it as a “military accomplishment” and “source of pride” to be passed down through generations. This is the Hamas leader Kushner reportedly said had spoken “all the right things.”

To Kushner’s credit, he demanded that Hamas surrender its weapons, relinquish control of Gaza and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure. Yet Hamas’s public statement did not explicitly promise disarmament. Instead, Hamas demanded that Israel stop fighting, withdraw from Gaza and permit reconstruction.

Pressure Israel first. Trust Hamas later.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected that dangerous sequence. He insisted that Hamas surrender every weapon, dismantle its tunnels and completely demilitarize Gaza before any Israeli withdrawal or reconstruction.