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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that Israel rejects the 15-point Gaza document proposed under the Board of Peace initiative, The Jerusalem Post reported. He declared that the Israeli military will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against Israeli forces and citizens. Netanyahu stressed that genuine disarmament must encompass heavy weapons along with all other arms rather than any fictitious arrangement. The prime minister added that Israel is engaged in talks with US officials on the matter and knows how to stand its ground on proposals it finds unacceptable.
The plan announced by Trump in September last year established a Board of Peace to oversee implementation that would include full disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups along with Israeli troop withdrawal and Gaza reconstruction, according to a BBC report. Trump had described the development as a monumental step toward lasting peace and security after Hamas signaled acceptance of a disarmament framework. Hamas however conditioned any handover of heavy weapons on Israel ending all forms of aggression and completing a full withdrawal from the territory.
Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Gaza since the initial ceasefire agreement reached last October, BBC data shows. The operations persist even as the latest plan sought to build on that truce toward broader peace. Such actions reflect the fragile nature of the halt in major hostilities that both sides had endorsed the previous year.
Netanyahu reiterated his long-standing opposition to a Palestinian state during the same cabinet session, The Jerusalem Post reported. He said that as long as he remains prime minister there will be neither a state in Gaza nor in Judea and Samaria whether under Fatah or Hamas control. The prime minister expressed appreciation for the historic partnership with the United States and President Trump particularly on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons while noting that Tehran understands the powerful blow Israel would deliver if it launched an attack.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed Netanyahu’s unequivocal clarification and rejection of the plan, according to The Jerusalem Post. Smotrich stated that the war’s central objective remains the destruction of Hamas militarily, civilly and as a governing authority so that Gaza poses no threat to Israeli citizens for years to come. He added that all reconstruction efforts in the territory must follow complete Hamas disarmament and that Israel will not compromise on this goal.
A senior Hamas official named Basem Naim told Reuters that the group remains committed to the roadmap agreed upon in Cairo. Naim called on mediators and the United States to press Netanyahu and his government to adhere to that framework. The comments highlight the divergent positions that continue to complicate implementation of any agreement.
The rejection comes just months before Israeli elections as Netanyahu faces pressure from far-right allies within his coalition, a BBC assessment found. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had earlier dismissed the draft as unacceptable and urged a new cabinet vote to terminate the plan. Such dynamics underscore the political constraints shaping Israel’s approach to the US-backed proposals.
