By Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute
August 24, 2026
US envoy Jared Kushner recently met Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and other Hamas officials in Cairo as part of US efforts to advance President Donald J. Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
Whatever the administration’s intentions, such meetings provide Hamas with something it has sought for years: international legitimacy.
When representatives of the world’s leading superpower sit directly with Hamas leaders, Hamas can present the encounter to Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims as evidence that its strategy has succeeded.
A US-designated terrorist organization that perpetrated the October 7 massacre is no longer merely being pressured to surrender; its leaders are sitting across the table from senior American representatives.
The message is that terrorism pays. If you carry out attacks, take hostages, retain your weapons and survive long enough – eventually the Americans will negotiate with you.
This perception is particularly dangerous just months before Palestinian elections. Instead of politically isolating Hamas, direct high-level engagement helps portray the terrorist group as an indispensable regional actor.
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