Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally rejected the 15-point peace plan for Gaza proposed by the United States, asserting that Israeli military forces will not withdraw from the territory until Hamas is “genuinely disarmed.” During a recent cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister emphasized that the militant group must surrender all weaponry before any troop pull-back can be considered. The rejected roadmap, introduced on July 30 by the U.S.-led Board of Peace, outlined a phased, conditional framework for both disarmament and the reconstruction of the war-torn enclave.
Under the proposal, which is overseen by the United Nations Security Council via Resolution 2803, Israeli forces were expected to withdraw in stages as the disarmament process progressed. The plan also envisioned the transition of governance to an independent Palestinian National Committee. The Board of Peace, established by President Donald Trump in October with him serving as its lifetime chair, remains the primary vehicle for these negotiations. Despite the framework, significant challenges persist, as Hamas hinges its compliance on an end to Israel’s military actions.
A member of the Hamas negotiating delegation last month told Al Jazeera that the group’s implementation of the agreement is strictly dependent on Israel fulfilling its own commitments. However, the Board of Peace clarified earlier this week that an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will only take place after the disarmament of Hamas is complete. This discrepancy highlights the deep-seated mistrust between the parties, further complicated by the ongoing scale of the conflict.
Israel has killed more than 73,300 Palestinians in Gaza since the war began in October 2023. Since agreeing to a U.S.-mediated “ceasefire” with Hamas in October 2025, Israel has continued to carry out strikes on the enclave, killing more than 1,200 additional Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli army maintains that it “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens.”
Netanyahu added that Israel is actively engaging with Washington to address its specific concerns regarding the plan’s implementation. “They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us, and some are not, and we know how to stand our ground on these matters,” he said. The Israeli leader, who faces a challenging national election on October 27, stressed that his government remains firm on its security requirements. “We are talking about real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament,” Netanyahu stated during the cabinet session.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from the occupied West Bank, noted that the discussions surrounding the 15-point plan have become increasingly contentious. “It seems that Netanyahu, so close to elections, has hit the reset button, saying that none of that will happen under his watch,” she observed. This shift has created significant friction for the Board of Peace and international mediators who have spent months attempting to structure a viable path toward disarmament and long-term stability.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, highlighted the growing frustration on the ground. “The only concern that people have right now is that this is translating into greater uncertainty,” he reported, adding that the plan “was meant to provide more structure and a framework” for the suffering population. The lack of a clear path forward leaves residents in a state of limbo as the military campaign continues unabated.
Former Associated Press chief for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Terry Perry, told Al Jazeera that the rejection is a setback for diplomatic efforts. “But even if there is an idea that there is a declarative agreement to disarm, it is something that should be welcomed so clearly,” Perry noted. Despite this, the political climate in Israel remains heavily influenced by the aftermath of the October 7 attacks and the subsequent regional wars on Lebanon and Iran.
Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat, suggests that Netanyahu’s strategy is rooted in political survival. “This Israeli rejection of the Gaza plan should be viewed entirely in the context of the upcoming Israeli election on October 27,” Pinkas told Al Jazeera. He argues that Netanyahu believes he can defy U.S. pressure because he calculates that the current political environment in Washington provides him with sufficient leverage to avoid immediate consequences.
Pinkas further explained that Netanyahu has made a “calculation that this is risk-free,” assuming that he can withstand international pressure because the disarmament process remains incomplete. “And this is all about the forever war and the election,” he concluded. This perspective suggests that the rejection of the 15-point plan is as much a domestic political maneuver as it is a strategic military decision.
The international community remains divided on how to proceed. While the U.S. continues to push for the implementation of the roadmap, the Israeli government’s insistence on total disarmament as a prerequisite for any movement creates a deadlock. The Board of Peace faces the difficult task of reconciling these opposing positions while the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen.
As the October 27 election approaches, observers expect the rhetoric surrounding the Gaza plan to intensify. With Netanyahu trailing in successive surveys, his hardline stance on the disarmament of Hamas serves as a central pillar of his campaign. Whether this strategy will yield the desired electoral outcome or further isolate Israel on the global stage remains a critical question for the coming weeks.
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2803 designates it the body responsible for overseeing the Gaza peace plan.
Political analyst and former adviser to the Palestinian negotiations team Xavier Abu Eid says the Board of Peace and UNSC Resolution 2803 were accepted late last year because it was argued at that time that they were the
“But it was very clear from the very beginning that the 20-point plan of President Trump and the 15-point disarmament and implementation plan that followed were more about meeting Israeli interests than the Palestinian r
“There are important elements that were part of the plan in terms of security: Israeli withdrawal from the area that it has been occupying over the past years across Gaza known as the ‘Yellow Line’, the disarmament of Hamas, as well as the entry of international stabilisation forces.
Now, the full rejection here puts the sequencing and the steps to complete that into serious question.
Political analyst and former adviser to the Palestinian negotiations team Xavier Abu Eid says the Board of Peace and UNSC Resolution 2803 were accepted late last year because it was argued at that time that they were the only way to end the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
“But it was very clear from the very beginning that the 20-point plan of President Trump and the 15-point disarmament and implementation plan that followed were more about meeting Israeli interests than the Palestinian right to self-determination,” he told Al Jazeera.
Source: Aljazeera
