Netanyahu Rejects Gaza Plan: Israel Won’t Withdraw Until Hamas Is ‘Genuinely Disarmed’

Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restated on Aug. 9 that Israel has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace’s plan for Gaza and will not withdraw until Hamas is fully disarmed.

Trump posted on Truth Social in July that an agreement had been reached for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

Trump said the agreement is part of his plan that will be implemented in phases. As disarmament takes place, Israeli forces would withdraw, while an International Stabilization Force and a new Palestinian police force would assume responsibility for security.

Gaza would ultimately be governed by a new Palestinian government working with the Board of Peace.

The Board of Peace is an international organization chaired by Trump that seeks to promote stability, establish lawful governance, and secure lasting peace in areas affected by conflict. Its founding members include the United States, Israel, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and more than 20 other countries committed to international peace-building efforts, according to its website.

Speaking at the start of a government meeting on Aug. 9, Netanyahu said disarmament must include all of Hamas’s weapons and must be genuine rather than “fictitious.”

He said Israel is discussing the issue with the United States and that some U.S. proposals are acceptable to Israel, while others are not.

Netanyahu also said Israeli forces would continue acting against threats to Israeli troops and civilians.

He rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“As for the Gaza Strip: First and foremost, I wish to clarify the main point: As long as I am Prime Minister, a Palestinian state will not be established, neither in Gaza nor in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

He also addressed Iran and Lebanon, pledging to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and saying Israel is conducting an important military operation in Lebanon aimed at eliminating threats.

Israel has been conducting operations in Lebanon.

Two Israeli reservists were killed and four others were seriously wounded during operations recently in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli military. Lebanese authorities said an Israeli strike also killed one person and wounded 12 others in the town of Tibnin, Lebanon.

Israel gave an evacuation warning to residents before the strike.

The incidents come as the United States conducts talks aimed at reducing hostilities along the Israel-Lebanon border and advancing a broader peace agreement. U.S. officials said the discussions include the disarmament of Hezbollah and other Iran-backed threats, the redeployment of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, and the implementation of a pilot zone process transferring security responsibilities to the Lebanese army.