Israel Rejects Trump Gaza Peace Plan as Netanyahu Demands Hamas Disarm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is rejecting a peace proposal put forward by President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

“I want to clarify this: Israel rejects the 15-point document. I have heard people saying, ‘You didn’t say that.’ So here I am saying it again,” Netanyahu told members of his Cabinet.

“The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed,” the Israeli prime minister added.

Trump last month hailed what he described as a major step forward in efforts to secure a Gaza peace deal, but the plan appeared to run into a serious obstacle Sunday after Netanyahu rejected a central element of the proposal. The Israeli leader insisted that Hamas must hand over all weapons before Israeli forces leave the territory.

The president had previously celebrated a breakthrough in the talks, saying Hamas had agreed to disarm. But the Board of Peace roadmap envisions Israel gradually pulling troops out of Gaza while Hamas disarms — a timeline Netanyahu made clear he will not support.

“When I say Hamas must be disarmed, I mean heavy weapons, lighter weapons, all weapons. We are talking about genuine disarmament, not a fictitious one,” Netanyahu said Sunday, stressing that Israeli troops would remain in Gaza until the terror group is fully stripped of its arsenal.

Hamas has argued for the reverse sequence. The group said last month that it would disarm only after Israel completely withdraws from Gaza and halts military operations, with the surrender of heavy weapons to follow later and only if a Palestinian state is established.

Netanyahu also reaffirmed his longstanding opposition to Palestinian statehood, saying: “As long as I am Prime Minister, there will be no Palestinian State.” The remarks come as he heads into a bitter political battle ahead of October elections, with the wars in Gaza and Iran expected to be central issues in the campaign.

Senior Hamas official Basim Naeem blasted Netanyahu’s remarks, urging US officials and international mediators to ‘exert pressure’ on the Israeli leader to follow the agreed roadmap and ‘prevent him from obstructing the process for domestic political and electoral considerations.’

Naeem said Hamas remained committed to the Board of Peace’s proposal, describing it as an act of ‘national responsibility’ that serves the ‘interests of the Palestinian people.’

Netanyahu acknowledged negotiations with Washington remain ongoing despite the impasse.

‘We are currently discussing this issue with the Americans,’ he said. ‘They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand firm on these matters.’ 

Netanyahu visited Washington DC last month for the funeral of former South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who was one of Israel’s most vocal allies in the US Senate.

During the trip, the Israeli leader also met with Trump at the White House, and rubbed shoulders with other top cabinet officials.

At the Washington National Cathedral, Netanyahu crossed paths with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and was also seen speaking closely with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his wife.

He was also spotted among senior Trump aides and administration heavyweights including Stephen Miller, Steve Witkoff, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, and Homeland Security chief Markwayne Mullin.

Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu last month was the eighth face-to-face engagement since the Commander in Chief returned to the White House, and their first in-person encounter since a secretive, behind-closed-doors session on February 11.