Middle East | Foreign Relations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said his country rejects the latest US-backed peace plan for Gaza, demanding the full disarmament of Hamas before any Israeli forces withdraw.

The comments come more than a week after Trump announced a breakthrough in negotiations, with his Board of Peace (BoP) issuing a new 15-point plan aimed at securing lasting peace in the territory

But in his first remarks directly addressing the plan, Netanyahu said: “I want to be precise here: Israel rejects the 15-point document.”

He 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.”

“We are now discussing this with the Americans,” he added. “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 said.

After Trump’s announcement on July 31 there was a brief surge in Israeli strikes on Gaza, but these have declined over the last few days.

Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition faces an election at the end of October and is trailing in opinion polls. The prime minister must balance pressure from Washington with demands from hardline ministers not to make concessions to Hamas.

After the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, Netanyahu vowed Israel would eradicate the group.

Courtesy: cnn.com