Netanyahu rejects Trump’s Gaza plan, refuses Hamas disarmament

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday publicly rejected President Donald Trump’s proposal to disarm Hamas and set up a Palestinian-led administration in Gaza. In a rare public break with Trump, Netanyahu said Israel would not accept the 15-point plan and that the Israel Defense Forces would not withdraw from Gaza under its terms. “I have heard people saying: ‘You didn’t say it.’ So here I am saying it again: Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” he told reporters.

The plan, first reported in late April, calls for Hamas to surrender weapons, Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza, and a technocratic Palestinian government to take charge of reconstruction and security. Trump’s team promoted it as a way to end the eight-month war that has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians and displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people. But Netanyahu has long opposed handing Gaza to a Palestinian government that might include Hamas or be influenced by it.

Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led attacks on October 7 killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. The fighting has devastated Gaza’s infrastructure, hospitals, and schools, with U.N. agencies warning of famine. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are freed. Hamas has so far rejected the Trump plan, calling it an attempt to impose Israeli demands.

Netanyahu’s rejection complicates Trump’s push for a peace deal before the U.S. election. It also isolates Israel diplomatically, as Arab states that had warmed to Israel under Trump now distance themselves. Israel’s far-right coalition partners have threatened to collapse the government if Netanyahu makes any concessions on Gaza. The next move could come from Washington, which has not yet publicly criticized Netanyahu. Hamas may also respond with further attacks or negotiations, raising the risk of a wider regional conflict.