Netanyahu rejects Trump Gaza peace plan, opposes Palestinian state

Netanyahu rejects Trump's Gaza peace plan, rules out Palestinian state

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally rejected President Donald Trump's 15-point peace plan for Gaza, insisting there will be no Palestinian state while he remains in office and that Israeli forces will not withdraw from the territory until Hamas is fully disarmed.

The rejection came just over a week after Trump announced what he called a "monumental step": an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, brokered through his Board of Peace initiative.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu was blunt. "Israel rejects the 15 points document," he said. "The IDF will not execute any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed. When I say disarming Hamas, it means heavy weapons, less heavy weapons, all weapons. And we are talking about real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament."

He also warned: "As long as I am Prime Minister, a Palestinian state will not be established, not in Gaza and not in Judea and Samaria."

The plan, developed by the US with Turkey, Qatar and Egypt, had proposed a phased process in which Hamas would hand over its weapons while Israeli forces withdrew in stages. A new Palestinian administration would then take over governance of the strip, with international peacekeepers providing security.

Hamas had agreed to the framework, saying disarmament was contingent on an end to Israeli aggression, a full Israeli withdrawal, the arrival of international protection forces, and a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood.

But the sequencing has proved the central sticking point. Hamas insists Israeli forces must withdraw before it surrenders any weapons. Israel says the opposite.

The rejection is a significant blow to Trump, who had touted the deal as a foreign policy success. At a Camp David cabinet meeting, he said Israel was "very happy" with the agreement. Israeli officials had been notably silent in the days following the announcement.

Analysts say Netanyahu's position is shaped by domestic politics. Israel faces elections in October, and polls suggest his coalition is trailing. He faces pressure from right-wing members of his own cabinet who oppose any concessions in Gaza.

"Netanyahu is an avid leader of public opinion polls," said Professor Yossi Mekelberg of Chatham House. "This plays into the right-wing base. It doesn't want to be seen as weak."

The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. More than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire was announced last October, according to Palestinian officials. UNICEF says at least 300 of them were children.

Dr James Smith, an emergency medicine doctor working in Gaza, said the ceasefire has not brought peace. "There is no ceasefire here in Gaza. If we are to call what we're seeing a ceasefire, then the word really has lost all of its meaning."

Israeli forces currently control around 60 to 70 percent of the strip, positioned beyond the "yellow line" demarcation agreed under the October ceasefire. Israeli airstrikes continue on a near-daily basis.

The Board of Peace's high representative, Nikolai Mladenov, has insisted the plan remains the only way forward, saying further talks were underway. A senior Hamas official said the US must pressure Israel to accept the deal.

But with elections looming and both sides entrenched, the prospects for progress appear limited. As one analyst put it: "For every step forward, there is always a step back."