Benjamin Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s 15-Point Gaza Peace Plan, Vows No Withdrawal Until Hamas Disarms

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected President Donald Trump’s 15-point Gaza peace plan in televised remarks to his right-wing government on Sunday, saying “Israel does not accept the 15-point document.”

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document”

Reuters

Netanyahu also vowed that the Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed,” adding that it means “heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry.”

Acento

The dispute centers on Trump’s plan, which Reuters said was agreed by both Israel and Hamas and would pair Israeli forces withdrawing with Hamas disarmament and an International Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police force to secure the enclave.

Reuters reported that Israel scaled back attacks in Gaza after Nikolay Mladenov, the Gaza envoy for Trump’s Board of Peace, met with Netanyahu, and that Mladenov said discussions on the new roadmap were ongoing.

In parallel, Al Jazeera reported that Trump said his relationship with Netanyahu is “very good” even as Netanyahu dismissed the plan, after Netanyahu’s Sunday rejection of the US-backed framework.

The BBC reported that the White House was “not bothered” by Netanyahu’s statement and viewed it as campaign rhetoric, quoting Israeli journalist Barak Ravid as saying a senior US official told him, “We understand Bibi's political needs.”

The BBC also said an Israeli spokesman stated the roadmap did not “reflect Israel's positions,” while a far-right member of the government, Itamar Ben-Gvir, wrote on X that the deal was “unacceptable.”

Al Jazeera

In response to the report of Netanyahu’s rejection, Hamas said it remained committed to the roadmap, with Bassem Naim telling Reuters that “We expect the mediators and the U.S. guarantor to press Netanyahu and his government.”

Reuters added that Netanyahu said Israel was in talks with the United States, saying, “They (the U.S.) have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us and some of which are unacceptable to us.”

Separately, The Jerusalem Post reported that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the agreements were meant to “lull us to sleep ahead of the next blow,” after a Monday report described Middle East officials advising another state to “lull it to sleep” while preparing for war.

The BBC said the expected construction of the first ISF base is scheduled to begin “amid the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza at the end of this month,” with the force intended to work with a new Palestinian police force to secure the territory.

“amid the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza at the end of this month”

BBC

Reuters reported that Hamas remained committed to the roadmap agreed in Cairo 10 days ago, while Israel’s military position was that it would only act against what it perceives as immediate threats and no longer carry out targeted assassinations as it had been doing on a near-daily basis.

The Washington Post described Netanyahu’s stance as a condition that Israeli withdrawal would come only after “genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament,” and said Netanyahu also told his cabinet that “Israel does not accept the 15-point document.”

In the background of the diplomatic fight, Reuters said Netanyahu is struggling in the polls as he seeks re-election at a vote due on October 27, while the BBC said the upcoming general election is scheduled for 27 October.

Reuters also warned that the timeline dispute is tied to the plan’s phased approach, with Trump announcing a breakthrough in which Israeli forces would withdraw along with Hamas disarmament, even as complications emerged over the schedule for implementing the plan.