The Israeli government has rejected a 15-point plan backed by the Trump administration aimed at disarming the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
President Trump announced the agreement between his Board of Peace and Hamas late last month, calling it a major breakthrough. Mr. Netanyahu’s office had expressed reservations, saying that the framework did “not reflect Israel’s positions,” but stopped short of outright rejecting it.
The U.S.-backed proposal envisions a phased process in which Hamas would hand over its weapons to a new Palestinian administration in Gaza in stages. In exchange, Israel would gradually withdraw from the more than half of Gaza that it still controls.
On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu openly dismissed the plan, saying that Israeli forces “would not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed.” It was a rare public break with Mr. Trump, with whom Mr. Netanyahu has had a dizzying and often unpredictable partnership.
“I want to be clear here — Israel is ruling out the 15-point plan,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a meeting of government ministers, according to a readout from his office, adding that Israel had conveyed its concerns to the Trump administration.
The Israeli prime minister — who faces a tough re-election campaign this fall — promised “absolute victory” over Hamas after the group led the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war in Gaza. But nearly three years later, Hamas still controls parts of the territory that it has dominated for nearly two decades.
Israel and Hamas agreed to an initial U.S.-backed cease-fire in Gaza last October, and mediators hoped that would end the war. But the truce put off many of the most difficult questions — like Hamas’s control of the enclave — for later.
Mr. Trump’s peace plan for Gaza stipulated that Hamas would give up its weapons, a core Israeli demand. But armed resistance to Israel is a central tenet for the group, making it a major sticking point.
