Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected US President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza, stating that no military pull-out will happen until Hamas is “genuinely” disarmed.
Trump’s Board of Peace said last month it had reached an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.
But Hamas said handing over its heavy weapons was contingent on Israel ending “all forms of aggression” and withdrawing its forces from Gaza.
On Sunday, a senior Board of Peace official insisted the US-backed peace plan for the territory remained the only way forward.
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 on Sunday.
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.
Israel’s rejection signals another blow for Trump’s Gaza peace plan which was announced in September last year.
The plan included the creation of the Board of Peace to oversee the agreement’s implementation, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, withdrawal of Israeli troops and reconstruction of Gaza.
It’s just over a week since Trump announced what he called a “monumental step toward lasting peace and security” – that Hamas for the first time had agreed to disarm, on condition that Israel withdraws its forces from Gaza.
On Sunday, Netanyahu was clear that was not going to happen under his watch. He said Hamas had to disarm first, adding that it couldn’t be some “fictitious disarmament” – it had to be real.
The reality is any disarmament and withdrawal of Israeli forces would likely need to be phased.
Netanyahu said he was now in discussion with US officials about how to go forward.
“They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand our ground on these matters,” he said.
But just months before Israeli elections and under pressure from members of his right-wing coalition to take a tough stance on Gaza, he is unlikely to want to make concessions.
He has faced calls from far-right parts of the coalition to hold a new cabinet vote and end the Gaza plan, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who dismissed the draft as “not acceptable”.
