Trump's Gaza Peace Plan Hits Roadblock as Israel, Hamas Disagree on Disarmament Terms

Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza was in doubt again on Wednesday as Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel did not agree to terms for disarming Hamas and would not withdraw from the Palestinian enclave until Hamas is completely disarmed.

The US president last week hailed a “major milestone” towards implementing his peace plan initially agreed in October, saying that Hamas would give up its weapons and that Israel would pull back from Gaza in phases. He said that Israel was “very happy” about the deal.

But complications soon emerged as Israeli officials suggested the military would not begin to move until Hamas gives up its weapons. Hamas said it would not disarm until Israel halts its deadly attacks.

In his first public comments on the matter, Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel has not agreed to the so-called Board of Peace’s terms and that Israeli forces will not withdraw “from our current lines” in Gaza “until Hamas is completely disarmed”. He suggested that talks would continue to finalise the terms.

Speaking after meeting with the Board’s lead envoy to Gaza on Monday, the prime minister said: “President Trump thinks - or his team thinks - that they can get Hamas to disarm and demilitarise Gaza. We are looking into it. They sent us a draft. We did not agree to it. It was not our draft. We sent back our comments.”

Under the initial deal to end the war, Israel was supposed to pull back to a demarcation termed the Yellow Line, separating 47 per cent of the land controlled by the Palestinians from the 53 per cent controlled by Israel. Israel was supposed to steadily withdraw from its position, but has instead increased its area of control to around two-thirds.

The Board of Peace on Monday had hailed a “constructive and detailed” meeting between Netanyahu, Israeli officials and Gaza envoy Nikolay Mladenov. “The goal is clear and is not in question: the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance,” they had written on X. “Reaching it will be a process. And that process will be set out in the next phase of the work.”

The Board noted that the full withdrawal of the Israeli military beyond the Yellow Line “will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators”. This applies to light and heavy weapons and Hamas tunnels, the board said.

Hamas rejects the word “disarmament” but has said it will hand over its weapons for storage under the control of a US-backed Palestinian administration after Israel halts operations and withdraws its forces in line with last year's ceasefire.

A conflict continues to surround the order in which Hamas and Israel implement their respective de-escalations.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu's office said previously that Israel had relayed concerns to Washington about the disarmament plan. “The most important concern for Israel is that nothing can happen before Hamas completely and truly disarms,” spokesperson Doron Spielman said.

On Sunday, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen — a member of Netanyahu's security cabinet — said the government would give Hamas the opportunity to disarm but that he was “very sceptical” that would happen.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, also said on Sunday that Israeli troops in Gaza would not move before Hamas disarms and its tunnels are destroyed.

President Trump met with Mr Netanyahu in Washington last Tuesday, but an Israeli political source told Reuters that the issue of Gaza did not come up during the meeting.

The Israeli prime minister faces an election in October in which he is likely to rely on support from right-wing partners apprehensive about the peace process with Hamas.