JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected US President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza, declaring that the Israeli occupation will not withdraw from the territory until Hamas is “genuinely” disarmed.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said: “Israel rejects the 15-point document,” while insisting that Israeli forces would continue military operations until what he described as threats to Israeli forces and civilians were eliminated.
The rejection puts Netanyahu’s government at odds with the US-backed framework, which the Trump administration has presented as a path toward ending the conflict and establishing new arrangements for Gaza.
Trump’s Board of Peace said last month that an agreement had been reached for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. Hamas, however, has maintained that any weapons arrangements are conditional on the Israeli occupation ending what it describes as aggression and withdrawing its forces from the territory.
Netanyahu said the Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed”, effectively tying any Israeli withdrawal to the completion of the disarmament process.
The Israeli occupation has continued carrying out strikes in Gaza despite the initial ceasefire agreed last October, with the latest dispute raising fresh questions over whether the US-backed plan can move forward without Israeli approval of its withdrawal provisions.
A senior official from Trump’s Board of Peace nevertheless said on Sunday that the US-backed plan remains the only way forward, underscoring the growing disagreement over how the proposed Gaza settlement should be implemented.
