What Netanyahu’s rejection means for Trump’s Gaza roadmap

What Netanyahu’s rejection means for Trump’s Gaza roadmap

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected United States President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza, saying Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas is “genuinely disarmed”. Netanyahu said Hamas must surrender all its weapons before any Israeli pull-back.

The decision leaves the proposed sequence of disarmament, Israeli troop withdrawals and Gaza’s future administration in dispute. Trump’s framework had presented those steps as part of a phased process, while the Board of Peace later said withdrawal would follow only after Hamas’s disarmament was complete.

What the 15-point plan proposed

The US-led Board of Peace proposed the roadmap on July 30 as a conditional framework for disarmament and reconstruction in Gaza. It calls for governance to pass to an independent Palestinian National Committee, supported by an international security force.

The Board of Peace, created by Trump in October with him as its lifetime chair, is led by the US government. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 designates it as the body responsible for overseeing the Gaza peace plan.

Related coverage: Israeli Gaza Pullback Depends on Hamas Disarmament, Board Says.

Why Netanyahu rejected it

Netanyahu said the Israeli army would continue to thwart threats against its forces and citizens. He also said Israel was discussing its concerns with Washington, adding that some US ideas were acceptable and others were not.

The rejection comes as Netanyahu faces pressure from his right-wing base ahead of an Israeli national election expected in October. The source says successive surveys have indicated that he is on course to lose, while Israeli analyst Alon Pinkas linked the decision to the election scheduled for October 27.

What happens next in Gaza

The rejection has deepened uncertainty for Palestinians in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud. He said residents had expected Israel to oppose the proposal and were concerned that the decision could bring less clarity about the end of hostilities.

More context: Historic Hamas Disarmament Agreement in Gaza Faces Uncertainty.

The disputed plan included Israeli withdrawal from areas occupied across Gaza near the “Yellow Line”, the arrival of international stabilisation forces and Hamas’s disarmament. Mahmoud said the rejection puts the sequencing of those steps into serious question.

The source reports that Israel has killed more than 73,300 Palestinians in Gaza since the war began in October 2023. It also says Israeli strikes continued after an October 2025 US-mediated ceasefire, killing more than 1,200 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

How the proposal is being assessed

Xavier Abu Eid, a political analyst and former adviser to the Palestinian negotiations team, said the Board of Peace and Resolution 2803 had been accepted late last year on the argument that they offered the only route to ending the war. He argued that the later plans prioritised Israeli interests over Palestinian self-determination.

Also read: Israel Escalates Military Operations in Gaza Despite US-Backed Ceasefire Roadmap.

Israeli analysts Dan Perry and Alon Pinkas offered different criticisms of Netanyahu’s position. Perry said an agreement to disarm should be welcomed alongside efforts to address Gaza’s humanitarian disaster, while Pinkas said the prime minister’s decision reflected his political calculations ahead of the election.

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