Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel has rejected a U.S.-backed 15-point plan for Gaza and will not withdraw its forces from the territory until Hamas is fully disarmed.
“I want to be precise here: Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting.
Netanyahu said the Israeli military would “not withdraw at all until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and citizens.”
The comments came days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced what he described as a historic agreement aimed at securing the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. The proposal was developed through Trump’s Board of Peace, a U.S.-led initiative involving dozens of countries.
Under the 15-point roadmap, Hamas would surrender its weapons in stages, including the eventual dismantling of tunnels and weapons factories, while Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza as each phase is completed.
“We are now discussing this with the Americans,” Netanyahu 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,” Netanyahu added.
Hamas has said it remains committed to implementing the plan and called on mediators and countries involved in guaranteeing the agreement to prevent actions that could derail the process.
The group has also called for an end to Israeli military strikes in Gaza and a withdrawal of Israeli troops to the “yellow line” established under an earlier ceasefire arrangement.
The White House had no immediate response to Netanyahu’s remarks.