Netanyahu defies Trump, vows to keep troops in Gaza until Hamas disarms

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday again rejected a Hamas disarmament proposal put forward by the Board of Peace led by US President Donald Trump.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting that day, Netanyahu said Israel would not accept the 15-point document, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. "To be clear, Israel rejects the 15-point document," he said, adding that the Israel Defense Forces would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas disarmed.

"Hamas disarmament means surrendering all weapons — heavy arms and small arms alike. We are currently discussing this issue with the United States," Netanyahu said. He noted that Washington had put forward several proposals, saying some were acceptable but others were not. "Israel's existence and the security of Israeli citizens are not subject to negotiations," he added.

Netanyahu also used the meeting to restate his opposition to Palestinian statehood. "I want to make clear the most important point regarding Gaza," he said. "As long as I am prime minister, a Palestinian state will not be established — not in Gaza, not in Judea and Samaria. No 'Fatahstan,' no 'Hamastan.'"

The remarks amounted to a renewed rejection of the two-state solution — the framework that would recognize both Israel and Palestine as independent states — which Britain, France and other Western nations have backed as a path to easing conflict in the Middle East.

Netanyahu's comments reaffirmed the Israeli cabinet's existing position that it cannot accept the disarmament agreement reached between the Trump-led Board of Peace and Hamas.

Netanyahu made a similar statement on Tuesday, saying Israel had not agreed to a draft sent by the Trump administration and that Hamas must disarm before Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza. On Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office spokesperson said Israel had conveyed "serious security concerns" to the Trump administration on the matter.

The 15-point proposal Netanyahu rejected is a separate document from the 20-point Gaza peace framework that Trump put forward and Israel agreed to last October. The Board of Peace's 15-point plan calls for Israel to halt airstrikes and begin withdrawing troops from Gaza as Hamas starts to disarm.

Netanyahu's opposition to both the Hamas disarmament plan and the end-of-war agreement with Iran — both initiatives championed by Trump — is widely seen as driven by domestic political calculations ahead of Israeli general elections in October. With his approval rating falling, analysts say Netanyahu has chosen to oppose the proposals as a way to rally his political base.