Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has not accepted the Board of Peace’s proposed roadmap for disarming Hamas, publicly challenging an agreement President Donald Trump had hailed as a major breakthrough toward ending the Gaza conflict.
In a video statement released Tuesday, Netanyahu said the Trump administration believed it might be able to secure Hamas’s disarmament and the broader demilitarization of Gaza but stressed that Jerusalem had not approved the document negotiated with the terror group.
“They sent us a draft. We did not agree. It is not our draft. We sent our comments,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also declared that the IDF would not withdraw “from our current lines” until “Hamas is completely disarmed,” drawing a distinction between Israel’s position and a roadmap that envisions Israeli withdrawals taking place in stages as Hamas relinquishes its weapons.
AFSI Insight
AFSI welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rejection of any plan that would require an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before Hamas is fully disarmed. Israel cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of past withdrawals or entrust its security to international bodies or unenforceable agreements. Lasting peace, which we have our doubts about, can only be achieved by eliminating Hamas’ military capabilities, maintaining Israel’s freedom of action, and ensuring that Gaza can never again serve as a base for terrorism against the Jewish state.