Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s Plan to Disarm Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a 15-point plan backed by the Trump administration that calls for Hamas to surrender its weapons in exchange for a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The Israeli government formally rejected the U.S.-backed proposal on Sunday, marking a rare public disagreement between Netanyahu and President Donald Trump.

Trump’s “Board of Peace” announced the agreement with Hamas late last month and described it as a major breakthrough. Netanyahu’s office initially expressed reservations, saying the framework did not reflect Israel’s position, but stopped short of rejecting it outright.

Under the proposed plan, Hamas would hand over its weapons in stages to a new Palestinian administration in Gaza. In return, Israeli forces would gradually withdraw from more than half of the territory currently under Israeli control.

However, Netanyahu made clear on Sunday that Israel would not accept such an arrangement.

“Israel is ruling out the 15-point plan,” Netanyahu said at a meeting of government ministers, according to a statement from his office. He added that Israel had already communicated its concerns to the Trump administration.

Netanyahu also stated that Israeli forces would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas has been disarmed.

The rejection represents an unusual public rift between Netanyahu and Trump, whose political partnership has generally remained close but has also been unpredictable.

Netanyahu, who faces a difficult re-election campaign this fall, has repeatedly promised “absolute victory” over Hamas following the group’s October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the Gaza war.

Nearly three years later, however, Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza, a territory it has dominated for almost two decades.

Israel and Hamas agreed to an initial U.S.-backed cease-fire last October. Mediators had hoped the truce would eventually lead to an end to the war. But many of the most difficult issues—including Hamas’s control of Gaza—were left unresolved.

The Trump peace plan identified Hamas’s disarmament as a central requirement. Disarming the group, however, remains one of the most contentious issues because armed resistance against Israel is a core part of Hamas’s ideology and strategy.

The disagreement between Netanyahu and Trump could therefore pose a significant challenge to efforts to achieve a lasting cease-fire and political settlement in Gaza.