No Palestinian state as long as I am PM: Netanyahu rejects Gaza peace plan

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Tel Aviv [Israel], August 9 (ANI): Israel has rejected US President Donald Trump’s 15-point Gaza peace plan and will not withdraw its forces from the enclave until Hamas is “genuinely” disarmed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday.

“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said, referring to a proposal endorsed in late July by Hamas, according to Israeli media.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu emphasised that 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.”

Facing pressure from far-right coalition partners urging a fresh cabinet vote to abandon the peace plan, Netanyahu, who is locked in a competitive electoral race according to opinion polls, noted that Israel remains in discussions with Washington on the issue.

“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,” he stated.

Trump’s 15-point framework outlines a phased strategy aimed at terminating the Gaza conflict, disarming armed factions, withdrawing Israeli troops, and transitioning governance of the strip to a Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

Under the roadmap, heavy weaponry, arms depots, military sites, and tunnels would be placed under the committee’s control, while an international stabilisation force would be deployed to separate Israeli troops from Palestinian-administered areas.

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Israeli forces would then withdraw in stages, paving the way for reconstruction and a longer-term political process towards Palestinian self-determination.

However, a core impasse remains: while Trump previously stated that both sides accepted the framework and that Hamas agreed to lay down its arms, Israel insists full demilitarisation of Hamas must precede any troop pullout, even as it continues military strikes despite the ceasefire established last October.

The widening rift over the peace plan has drawn a rare, unified reaction from eight Muslim-majority countries.

The United Arab Emirates joined Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt in issuing a joint declaration condemning ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza.

The foreign ministers warned that continued military action risks undermining international peace efforts, cautioning that it could “derail the political process”, provoke further regional escalation, and deepen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

(Source: ANI)

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