Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday categorically rejected a new proposal to advance US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza and ruled out any Israeli military withdrawal from the Palestinian territory until Hamas is fully disarmed.
“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Mr Netanyahu said in remarks during a cabinet meeting. He added that the Israeli military would not withdraw until Hamas undertook what he described as “real, not fictitious” disarmament, including all heavy and light weapons.
The plan unveiled by mediators on July 30 laid out steps for the disarmament of Hamas in tandem with Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. Mr Netanyahu said Israel did not agree with the plan in a Hebrew-language post on his Facebook page last week, but has been under pressure from senior officials and ministers in his far-right government to be more explicit.
“I heard people saying, ‘You didn’t say so,'” he said on Sunday. “So here I am saying it again: Israel rejects the 15-point document."
Mr Netanyahu said Israel was discussing the issue with the US, noting that some American proposals were acceptable to Israel while others were not. He also said the military would continue to act against threats to its forces and Israeli civilians.
He also reiterated his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying that “neither Fatahstan nor Hamastan” would be established under his leadership, referring to Fatah, the main Palestinian political faction in the occupied West Bank.
His comments could put him on a collision course with Mr Trump, who pushed for the ceasefire in Gaza that began last October and who heads the Board of Peace, which is overseeing the implementation of the peace plan.
Israel intensified its strikes on Gaza in the days after the disarmament plan was announced, drawing rare condemnation from top Board of Peace diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, although he did not mention Israel by name. He later met Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
“This is the start of the hard phase, and I have never pretended otherwise. Not much of what we do now is dramatic. It is slow, grinding and technical work,” Mr Mladenov posted on X about his meetings with Mr Netanyahu, which took place last Monday.
The plan was announced after months of talks between the Board of Peace, Hamas and mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey on the issue of disarmament, which is widely viewed as one of the trickiest topics in negotiations. Israel was not part of the disarmament talks.
A Hamas statement issued after Mr Netanyahu's comments reiterated its "seriousness in engaging responsibly in implementing the 15 points agreed upon and establishing a clear timetable for their implementation".
Many members of Mr Netanyahu's government reject the idea of withdrawal from Gaza and support the establishment of Israeli settlements there. Mr Netanyahu is also fighting an election campaign and fears that any concessions on Gaza might anger his base.
Addressing broader regional concerns, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would not accept Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and said Israeli forces were continuing operations against threats in Lebanon.
