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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a 15-point plan approved by U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza, insisting that Israeli forces will not withdraw from the Palestinian territory until Hamas is disarmed.
"Israel rejects the 15-point document published by the Board of Peace for Gaza," Netanyahu said in a video statement after the start of a Cabinet meeting, according to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
"The Israeli army will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed," he added.
Netanyahu said the disarmament must include "the heavy weapons, the less heavy weapons," adding that Israel wants "real disarmament, not fake disarmament."
The rejection came after the Board of Peace released a draft agreement July 31 outlining principles and implementation mechanisms for the next phase of Trump's Gaza plan.
The draft includes security, administrative and transitional arrangements for the enclave, as well as a proposed political track.
The document is the latest stage in a U.S.-led ceasefire announced in October that has reduced but not ended Israeli operations in Gaza.
The plan said Hamas would surrender weapons to a nascent Palestinian governing body.
It also said Israel would begin pulling out forces in tandem with the disarmament, an idea rejected by Israel, which also wants Hamas to destroy its weapons.
After meeting Netanyahu last week, the Board of Peace said Israel would only need to withdraw after "complete" disarmament.
Netanyahu said Israel was holding talks with the United States on the issue, adding that Washington had proposed several ideas.
"Some of them are acceptable to us, and some are not acceptable to us," he said.
Netanyahu's comments followed more than a week of gradually escalating criticism of the plan as he faced pushback from his right-wing base ahead of elections.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, is in a tight race to stay in power, according to polls.
He has faced calls from far-right allies to hold a new Cabinet vote and end the Gaza plan.
Netanyahu said Hamas must give up all of its weapons, a goal that Board of Peace members say is not realistically achievable.
"We are talking about real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament," Netanyahu said.
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