Israel rejects Trump's Gaza peace plan, citing disarmament concerns

Donald Trump's declaration of a "monumental step" toward peace in Gaza, brokered by his Board of Peace with Hamas, quickly unraveled.

Hours after Trump's triumphant announcement that Hamas would lay down its weapons and Israel was "very happy," the Netanyahu government revealed serious reservations. Deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza intensified, culminating in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's outright rejection of the 15-point peace plan on Sunday.

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They have ideas, some of them are acceptable to us and some are unacceptable to us. Israel rejects the 15-point plan.

Netanyahu stated that while some ideas in the plan were acceptable, Israel "rejects the 15-point plan." He emphasized that Israeli forces would not withdraw from the enclave until Hamas is "genuinely disarmed," signaling a political calculation ahead of an upcoming Israeli election.

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Israeli forces will not withdraw from the enclave until Hamas is "genuinely disarmed".

Hamas, for its part, agreed to store its heavy and light weapons under the supervision of a new Palestinian technocratic committee, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), backed by the US and the Board of Peace. However, this concession was conditional on Israel ceasing attacks and withdrawing its forces to the pre-agreed "Yellow Line." This development is seen by some analysts, like political science professor Mkhaimar Abusada, as a "big step" for Hamas, which had previously resisted disarming.

The exact mechanisms for weapon handover and storage remain unclear, and the NCAG has not been permitted to enter Gaza, operating instead from Cairo. The plan's future appears uncertain amidst the political tensions and ongoing conflict.

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They have basically, for the past 10 months, have refrained or have rejected the very essence of the idea of disarming themselves. Now coming publicly and agreeing to disarm and to turn all heavy weapons and light weapons to the Palestinian committee for the administration of Gaza in NCAG, that in my opinion is a very big development.