Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza and said Israel will not pull out until Hamas is ‘genuinely’ disarmed.
The Israeli Prime Minister told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that the military will ‘continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens’.
The US President’s Board of Peace claimed last month it had reached an agreement for the ‘complete disarmament’ of Hamas, as well as other armed groups in Gaza.
But Hamas insisted it would not hand over its heavy weapons until Hamas ended ‘all forms of aggression’ and withdrew its forces from Gaza.
Israel has continued to strike Gaza since agreeing to an initial ceasefire in the territory last October.
Netanyahu told ministers: ‘Israel rejects the 15-point plan.
‘I heard that tehre were those who said “you didn’t say it”, but we did say it, and here, I am saying it again.
‘Israel rejects 15-point plan. The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until the dismantling of Hamas and its weapons.’
He continued: ‘That means heavy weaponry, less heavy weaponry and smaller arms. All weaponry.
‘We’re talking about a true dismantling not a fictious dismantling.’
The Prime Minister went on to say he was talking with the Americans about the plan, adding some of their ideas were ‘unacceptable’ to him.
Natanyahu’s intervention is a blow to Trump, who announced a ‘monumental step toward lasting peace and security’ last month when he said Hamas had acepted a disarmament plan for Gaza.
The plan had already come under fire from Netanyahu’s far-right allies.
His National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir dismissed the draft as ‘not acceptable’.
The Israeli leader is under pressure to take a hardline approach to peace with national elections taking place in October.
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