‘Not our draft’: Netanyahu rejects Trump’s Gaza plan, disagrees to withdraw ‘until Hamas is completely disarmed’

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (local time) publicly rejected a draft proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump’s administration regarding the disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza, insisting that Israeli forces will not withdraw from their positions until Hamas is completely disarmed.

In a video statement posted on Instagram, Netanyahu emphasised Israel’s uncompromising position on national security and military presence in the Gaza Strip. “I stand firm on our security interests,” Netanyahu said. “We will not withdraw from our current lines until Hamas is completely disarmed”.

Netanyahu confirmed that while Washington had shared a draft plan to disarm and demilitarise Gaza, Israel rejected the proposal and submitted its own reservations prior to public reports on the initiative. His remarks present a stark contradiction to US President Donald Trump’s claim that “Israel is very happy about it”.

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“President Trump and his team think they can bring Hamas to disarm and demilitarize Gaza. We are looking into it”, Netanyahu stated. “They sent us a draft, we didn’t agree to it, it’s not our draft. We sent our comments. By the way, we sent our comments before there was a media campaign about it”.

Reaffirming the mandate given to Israeli forces, Netanyahu added that troops have been instructed “to do whatever is necessary to defend themselves, defend our territory, and defend our citizens”. The Prime Minister concluded by underscoring Israel’s stance: “This is our position. And we stand firm on our interests. I think both wisely and firmly.”

Earlier on Monday, in a major clarification regarding the implementation of the Gaza transition framework, the Board of Peace has also confirmed that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will not withdraw beyond the “Yellow Line” until the complete decommissioning of all weapons in the Gaza Strip is achieved.

The “Yellow Line” refers to a military zone extending approximately 10 km north of the border inside southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have indicated they intend to maintain control over this zone while reserving the right to conduct strikes there, citing efforts to eliminate Hezbollah’s presence, according to Al Jazeera.

The announcement came following high-level, constructive talks between High Representative Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace delegation, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with his senior team.

Setting the terms directly, the Board pushed back against recent speculation and conflicting reports over the timeline of an Israeli pullback. Dismissing what it described as inaccurate reports regarding an early or partial pullout, the Board of Peace stressed that Hamas committed to mediators that full disarmament must precede any major force redeployment.

“Contrary to inaccurate reports, we note that the withdrawal of the IDF beyond the Yellow Line will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators. This applies to light weapons, heavy weapons, and the tunnels alike,” the Board of Peace said in a statement.

The high-stakes meeting between the Board of Peace’s lead envoy Nickolay Mladenov and Prime Minister Netanyahu focused on executing the broader transition away from armed control in Gaza toward a stable civilian authority.

The developments come after US President Donald Trump on Friday hailed the Board of Peace agreement to disarm Hamas under a new Gaza roadmap as a “great breakthrough,” and said that Israel was pleased with the understanding reached.

“We do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it. They’ve been very good about it. Most people said that would be a deal that would be undoable,” Trump said. (ANI)