Israel has rejected the latest U.S. plan to move towards the next stage of peace in Gaza, demanding the full disarmament of Hamas before any Israeli forces withdraw. “Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the beginning of a cabinet meeting Sunday. He said the Israeli military would “not withdraw at all until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and citizens.” “And when I say disarm Hamas, that means heavy weapons, less-heavy weapons, all weapons. And we are talking about real disarmament, not a fictitious disarmament,” Netanyahu said. “We are now discussing this with the Americans. They have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand up to those things.” “As long as I am prime minister, no Palestinian state will be established — not in Gaza and not in the West Bank,” Netanyahu said. At the end of July, U.S. President Donald Trump announced what he described as a historic agreement to secure the disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, months after the president first announced a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. Hamas said it would only go through with the deal if Israel halts strikes in Gaza and pulls troops back to the “yellow line,” as defined by the October ceasefire agreement. Israeli forces currently occupy more than half of Gaza, in the east and south of the territory.
