Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuhas fully rejected the 15-point plan to disarm Hamas after President Trump announced a breakthrough last week, in which his Board of Peace announced a deal with the terror group.
Trump claimed last month that his panel cut a deal with Hamas for the terror group to disarm in exchange for Israel withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, but Netanyahu voiced skepticism about its sincerity.
“I want to be precise here: Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at a weekend cabinet meeting.
Netanyahu declared that Israel will “not withdraw at all until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and citizens.”
“We are now discussing this with the Americans,” the Israeli leader said. “They have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand up to those things.”
“As long as I am prime minister, no Palestinian state will be established — not in Gaza and not in the West Bank,” he added.
Despite their once famously chummy relationship, Netanyahu and Trump have been at odds over key details of the president’s push for peace in the region.
Last October, Trump’s administration cut a 20-point Gaza peace plan, featuring three phases: cease-fire and humanitarian support, demilitarization and reconstruction, and recognition of a Palestinian state.
Trump’s team has been working to get into phase 2 of that overarching plan, and the president is the chair of the Board of Peace overseeing the effort.
The 15-point proposal Trump announced last month had been seen as a potential breakthrough. Hamas and other Palestinian groups conditioned agreeing to the proposal on Israel committing to moving its forces back to the “yellow line” in the 20-point peace plan.
At the moment, Israel has forces on the ground in over half of the Gaza Strip, including in its east and south. Some members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have expressed interest in expanding the footprint in the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas also insisted that Israel cease all strikes in the Gaza Strip.
“Contrary to all those who preach to us, we do what must be done for Israel’s security and we can and will stand our ground even against our best friends when necessary,” Netanyahu further said Sunday.
After Netanyahu revealed his opposition to the 15-point plan, a top leader in Hamas demanded the US pressure the Israeli leader to get on board.
“We expect the mediators and the American guarantor to pressure Netanyahu and his government to adhere to the roadmap and not obstruct the process for internal political and electoral reasons,” Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’ politburo, posted on X.
Netanyahu, who has long been a hardliner, is facing an election in October, and his coalition is underwater in a lot of polling.
He had a meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance during his trip to Washington, DC, last month to attend the funeral of late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
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