Netanyahu: Israel rejects Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza, saying that a withdrawal of Israeli troops will not take place until Hamas is "truly" disarmed.
"Israel does not accept this 15-point document," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
The Israeli armed forces "will not carry out any withdrawal of troops until Hamas is truly disarmed, and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens," he added.
Trump's "Board of Peace" said in July that it had reached an agreement on the "complete disarmament" of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.
However, Hamas said that the surrender of heavy weapons depends on Israel ending "all forms of aggression" and withdrawing its troops from Gaza. One senior representative of the group told Reuters that the organization remains committed to the peace plan agreed upon in Cairo in July.
In July, Trump announced a "monumental step toward lasting peace and security" after Hamas said it had accepted a disarmament plan for the Gaza Strip.
However, Netanyahu said that Hamas must disarm before Israel withdraws its troops from Gaza, adding that it cannot be some kind of "fictitious disarmament."
He said that he is currently in talks with U.S. officials about how to proceed.
"They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to defend our position on these issues," he said.
Israel, meanwhile, has continued to strike Gaza since the initial ceasefire agreement for the territory was concluded last October.
A few months before elections in Israel, the prime minister is unlikely to want to make concessions.
His far-right allies, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who rejected the draft as "unacceptable," are calling for a new cabinet vote and for the Gaza plan to be abandoned.
This means another blow to Trump's peace plan, which was announced last September.
The plan provided for the creation of a "Board of Peace" to oversee the implementation of the agreement, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
