Jared Kushner met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem this week for four hours in private, but the divide between Washington's Gaza roadmap and Israel's red lines had not shifted appreciably. His arrival came just back from Egypt where the Trump administration's son-in-law and senior envoy did something rare for an American official: sat across the table from the political head of Hamas, Khalil al-Hayya. That's all that meeting did tell you how far the White House is willing to reach from the old rules of engagement, to keep its Gaza plan alive. But Kushner received a courteous but firm no in Jerusalem.

Israeli officials told those briefed on the meeting that it was "tense" but "civil," and that Netanyahu had told Board of Peace envoys Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blair that there would be no Israeli troop redeployment and no money for reconstruction released until Hamas had surrendered "all weapons in Gaza, light and heavy. That is a maximalist interpretation of a plan to which Hamas has already agreed in principle. The militant group in the months ago agreed to a phased demilitarization, accompanied by corresponding Israeli withdrawals. Netanyahu would like to change the order: disarm first, withdraw later if ever. The two sides did agree to establish two working groups one on demilitarization, another on Gaza's deteriorating water and sanitation facilities but American officials told reporters of no progress was made in talks on the actual content of the roadmap.

That's why the Israeli leader took the precaution. Israel is set to hold elections on October 27; Netanyahu told his American guests straight that a hasty withdrawal would come at a political expense before then. But it's not spin from critics, officials said who spoke to several outlets covering the meeting said that's the prime minister's side. A leader who is attempting to preserve a coalition that has hardline factions at its core is hardly going to have much desire to be perceived as ceding to Gaza weeks before the election, while opponents are prepared to label any compromise as “shameful” and “unpatriotic” on behalf of a group that is responsible for the October 7 massacre.

In the room, one concept that did make any headway was the placement of an American general to oversee the process of any weapons deal with Hamas, which was intended to provide Israel with an independent guarantee that the decommissioning was no mere act, but reality. Kushner was said to have urged Netanyahu to take “small, reversible steps” to see how sincere Hamas is, following a similar path used to free the last hostages detained in Gaza. That appeal won't necessarily sway an Israeli government preparing for an election is a different story.

The diplomatic and regional climate is becoming more hostile by the week. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the mediators of the ceasefire issued a joint statement to push Israel to take action on the stalled plan, while the Board of Peace in New York and Washington should do the same. It's an explicit message to governments Washington has been courting for two years as partners in a post-war Gaza order, as well as more broadly in a normalization process. President Trump, in his turn, has played a vastly different ballgame than his counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has constantly clashed with him over the issue, and has on Fox News this week expressed a deep desire to see Hamas "giving up their guns" and for Israeli action in Gaza to cease. There is growing difficulty in hiding the gap between Trump's public conditions and Netanyahu's private conditions.

There's also a need for time. The damage assessment report, which was compiled by the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union earlier this year, estimated the cost of Gaza's reconstruction at $71.4 billion over the next decade, with the bill for restoring basic services at $26.3 billion in the first 18 months. The losses in physical infrastructure total about $35 billion and overlaid with $22.7 billion in economic and social losses that have been estimated to have contracted the economy by an estimated 84 percent. More than 372,000 housing units destroyed or damaged, over half of Gaza's hospitals are not functioning and most of the schools are in ruins. If the disarmament standoff lasts for more than a day, donor governments will be tempted to stall disarmament funds, because no serious donor would like to invest in a rearmament enclave. That financial paralysis is what the Board of Peace hoped that disarmament progress would open up and it's what deadlock continues to keep frozen.

Hamas is meanwhile watching its waiting game. The group will not start surrendering weapons until a public and clear statement by Netanyahu about the terms of the plan, not assurances via intermediaries, an Arab diplomat familiar with the Cairo talks said. It has also separately called on the Board of Peace to force Israel into compliance, essentially daring Washington to pressure its closest regional ally as well as the nation that was blamed for sparking the war. The ceasefire is more of a negotiation than a peace, as about 200 Hamas fighters are believed to still be in the tunnels of Rafah and Israel continues to bomb in the name of pre-emptive action against Hamas operatives.

The product of Monday's marathon session is a plan that everyone says they support, no one is going to be the first to sign up to implement. Kushner departs with working papers on paper. Netanyahu heads off with his government intact and with the election timetable still running. A public commitment which never materialized is expected from Hamas. Gaza's economy was ravaged by almost three-quarters of its pre-war production is waiting on all three.