Israel rejects Trump’s Gaza peace plan and won’t withdraw until Hamas disarms
Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, insisting Israel will not withdraw until Hamas fully disarms.
The US president claimed last month that there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, which both Israel and Hamas agreed to last year and which started with the ceasefire.
Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Gaza since agreeing to the ceasefire last October.
He said that Hamas, which ruled Gaza for nearly two decades before carrying out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, had agreed to lay down its weapons.
The peace deal put forward by the US last year would have seen Hamas relinquish its weapons, Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza as the disarmament progresses, and an international stabilisation force work with a new Palestinian police force until a new Palestinian government takes over in Gaza.
Last month, Egypt, which is mediating discussions between Israel and Hamas, said that both sides had agreed to a new 15-point roadmap and that a future meeting would be held in Cairo “to discuss implementation mechanisms”.
Trump had thanked Egypt, Qatar and Turkey for mediating the agreement and called the deal “historic”.
A senior Hamas negotiator said at the time that the group’s disarmament is conditional on Israel fulfilling its commitments under the agreement, including withdrawing from Gaza and allowing the establishment of a national committee and reconstruction efforts.
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