Israel Rejects Board of Peace Plan in Entirety Until Complete Hamas Demilitarization

Israel is rejecting a 15-point Board of Peace plan put forward by President Trump and accepted by Hamas, which Prime Minister Netanyahu says does not do enough to disarm the terror organization.During the Israeli cabinet’s weekly meeting on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu issued a statement saying in no uncertain terms that “Israel does not accept the 15-point document.” “The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, and it will continue to thwart threats against our forces and citizens,” he said, making clear that he wished to leave no shadow of a doubt about Israel’s position on its domestic security.“And when I say the disarming of Hamas, it means heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry. And we are talking about genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament,” he said. Last month, the security cabinet approved in principle the idea of having an International Stabilization Force in Gaza to assume control of the territory. Last week, Mr. Netanayhu and his team had met with the head of the Board of Peace, Nickolay Mladenov, and others last week to discuss decommissioning weapons and enabling the transition to civilian governance. The board called it a “constructive and detailed” meeting with a shared understanding of objectives and concurred that the withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces beyond the Yellow Line would not occur until decommissioning of light weapons, heavy weapons, and tunnels is complete. “The goal is clear and is not in question: the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance. Reaching it will be a process. And that process will be set out in the next phase of the work,” the Board of Peace wrote in a statement on X on Monday. Hamas on Thursday agreed to the language, and the Board issued the Trump-approved 15-point plan on Friday.However, the language in points eight and 10 of the roadmap raises questions about what “decommissioning” means — particularly as the arms will not be dismantled per se but stored by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a transitional power group aimed at creating the bureaucratic structures for self-governance. It is also unclear how easily such weapons could be reconstituted and redistributed. Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly offered thanks to Mr. Trump for his support of Israel’s security, but lately some daylight can be seen between the two leaders over matters of Gaza and the threat from Iran. On Sunday, the prime minister said that the Americans “have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us and some of which are unacceptable” with regard to Gaza. For those that are not acceptable, he insisted Israel would stand firm. “The existence of Israel and the security of all Israeli citizens are not up for negotiation,” he added. “Unlike all those who lecture us, we do what needs to be done for Israel’s security, and we can and know how to stand our ground, even against our best friends when necessary.”Putting his personal stakes on the line, Mr. Netanyahu, whose premiership is up for grabs during national elections in October, said, “As long as I am prime minister, a Palestinian state will not be established, neither in Gaza nor in Judea and Samaria. Neither ‘Fatahstan’ nor ‘Hamastan.’” For that, Mr. Netanyahu was praised by his finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who said, according to the Times of Israel, that Gaza cannot begin rebuilding until “the complete dismantling and demobilization of Hamas and the Gaza Strip.”

Israel Rejects Board of Peace Plan in Entirety Until Complete Hamas Demilitarization

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