About two weeks after Hamas and other Palestinian factions agreed to the 15-point roadmap brought forward by United States President Trump’s Board of Peace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially rejected the plan.
Read more: Hamas agrees to phased disarmament in exchange for gradual withdrawal of IOF from Gaza
In a meeting with the Israeli cabinet on Sunday, August 9, Netanyahu explained that the Israeli forces will not withdraw from Gaza “until Hamas is disarmed.”
Netanyahu’s rejection is not only about which step comes first (the disarmament of Hamas or the withdrawal of Israeli Forces) but also about the mechanism the Palestinian resistance movement proposed for handing over its weapons to the Palestinian transitional entity.
“When I say Hamas must be disarmed, I mean the heavy weapons, the less-heavy weapons, all weapons. And we are talking about genuine disarmament, not a fictitious one,” he clarified.
For many, the real reason the head of the Israeli government chose to torpedo the deal was because Hamas and other Palestinian factions set the Israeli Army’s withdrawal from the war-torn enclave and the cessation of Israel’s hostilities as prerequisites for the disarmament plan.
Netanyahu’s statements during Sunday’s meeting also revealed his intention to stand up to any pressure from US President Donald Trump to accept the deal.
“Unlike all those who preach to us, we are doing what needs to be done for Israel’s security, and we can and know how to stand our ground even against our very best friends when necessary,” the Israeli PM said, referring to Trump.
The White House is reportedly “not bothered” by Netanyahu’s statement on the plan
Although the Trump administration has not commented on Netanyahu’s statements, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid cited an unnamed senior US official as saying that the White House “is not bothered” by what the Israeli PM said.
The US official added that his government sees these statements as part of Netanyahu’s rhetoric for the upcoming Israeli elections, which will be held in October.
“We understand Bibi’s political needs. We have no problem with it as long as he continues to do what we ask – especially regarding restraining attacks in Gaza,” the official stated, referring to Netanyahu.
The official also pointed out that Netanyahu had a discussion with President Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner last week, during which he promised to “give the 15-point plan a chance despite his skepticism and curb attacks on Gaza so that the process of demilitarization of Gaza can begin.”
Ravid indicated that Israel has halted its attacks on Gaza, and that Israeli Forces began to gradually withdraw to the Yellow Line after that discussion.
However, Wednesday, August 12, saw a new wave of Israeli attacks against civilians in different parts of the besieged strip, leaving a number of people wounded. The Israeli Army launched these attacks using drones, and firing live ammunition.
From BT News via This RSS Feed.