Israel Rejects Trump's 15-Point Plan for Gaza Until Hamas Disarms

The ongoing Israel war has entered a new phase of diplomatic tension as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza. Netanyahu told his cabinet that Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas is genuinely disarmed.

Netanyahu Rejects Trump's 15-Point Gaza Plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza, stating that no military pull-out will happen until Hamas is "genuinely" disarmed. [2] Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday that "Israel rejects the 15-point document." [2] The Israeli military "will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens," he added. [2] Netanyahu stated that Hamas had to disarm first, adding that it could not be some "fictitious disarmament" but had to be real. [2] He said he was now in discussion with US officials about how to go forward, noting that "They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand our ground on these matters." [2] Netanyahu made similar remarks in a social media post on Tuesday. [4]

Hamas Position and Response

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. — Source: bbc

Hamas has reaffirmed its commitment to the 15-point plan and called on mediators to ensure all parties comply. [2] A Hamas official told the BBC on Sunday the group "reaffirms its commitment" to the agreement and was ready "to engage seriously and responsibly in implementing" the 15-point plan. [2] They called on mediators to ensure "that all parties comply with what has been agreed." [2] Hamas said handing over its heavy weapons was contingent on Israel ending "all forms of aggression" and withdrawing its forces from Gaza. [2] Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters on Sunday that the group remained committed to the roadmap agreed with mediators in Cairo 10 days ago. [4] Hamas avoids the use of the term "disarmament" and said the group agreed to hand over weapons to be stored under a United States-backed Palestinian technocrat administration that would run the affairs in Gaza under the supervision of Trump's Board of Peace. [4]

Israeli Military Actions Post-Ceasefire

Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Gaza since agreeing to an initial ceasefire in the territory last October. [2] Since the ceasefire took effect on 11 October last year, Israeli forces have killed at least 1,258 Palestinians and injured 4,139 in Gaza. [3] Earlier this week the United Nations Children's Fund said that at least 300 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel over the last 10 months. [3] A source familiar with Israel’s position said it had agreed that the military would only act against what it perceives as immediate threats in Gaza and no longer carry out targeted assassinations as it had been doing on a near-daily basis. [4] Israel has scaled back attacks in Gaza since Monday, when Nikolay Mladenov, the Gaza envoy for Trump’s Board of Peace that oversees the Gaza ceasefire, met with Netanyahu. [4]

Giora Eiland's Comments on Gaza's Future

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. — Source: middleeasteye

Retired Israeli Major General Giora Eiland stated that Israel has no interest in rebuilding Gaza and that greater despair and destruction there serves Israeli interests. [3] Eiland told Israel’s 103FM radio station on Sunday that rebuilding Gaza would run against Israeli interests. [3] “Israel has no interest in Gaza being rebuilt, it is better for us that it be destroyed for generations to come,” Eiland said. [3] “The greater the despair in Gaza and the greater the destruction, and the greater the monument to what they did on October 7, years to come, that is good," he added. [3] Eiland described the 15-point Gaza plan backed by US President Donald Trump as “pro-Hamas.” [3] Eiland used the comparison to argue that Israel should retain the Yellow Line, which marks the territory its military occupies inside Gaza. [3] “Along with this, there is the territorial need for the Yellow Line, which we must not give up under any circumstances. This is a war, the enemy has lost, and we need land, not for settlement, but as a security buffer between the settlements and where the IDF can be located," he said. [3]

Background to the Conflict

The war began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage. [2] Israel's military campaign has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians according to Gaza's health ministry. [2] According to the United Nations, about 1.9 million people — 90% of Gaza's population — have been displaced in the territory since the war in Gaza started. [2] Israel's genocide on Gaza has killed at least 73,386 Palestinians and wounded 174,250 since 7 October 2023. [3] The plan included the creation of the Board of Peace to oversee the agreement's implementation, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, withdrawal of Israeli troops and reconstruction of Gaza. [2] Trump's Board of Peace said last month it had reached an agreement for the "complete disarmament" of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. [2]

Political Context in Israel

Netanyahu is in campaign mode as he seeks re-election at a vote due on October 27 but is caught between far-right ministers angered by concessions in Gaza and his key military backer, Trump. [4] He has faced calls from far-right parts of the coalition to hold a new cabinet vote and end the Gaza plan, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who dismissed the draft as "not acceptable". [2] Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised Netanyahu. [4] “We went to war with a central goal: the destruction of Hamas,” he said in a statement. [4] “The (military) cannot withdraw even a milimetre from the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip cannot begin any process of reconstruction before the complete dismantling and demobilisation of Hamas and the Gaza Strip.” [4] Nickolay Mladenov, a senior diplomat tasked with implementing Donald Trump's peace plan, defended the plan on Sunday and said discussions were ongoing in the hope of a "positive outcome." [2] Mladenov said the plan was built on a process that was "verifiable, that is reversible, that at each stage can be stopped, and that we have built up with a very clear-eyed understanding of what are the challenges ahead." [2]

What to watch next: Discussions continue between Israeli officials and the United States on the plan, with Mladenov stating that Israel has been asked "to give the process a chance" and that the plan remains the only way forward.