State of the Union: The Israeli prime minister said the proposal was not compatible with his country’s national security. The post Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan appeared first on The American Conservative.
The leaders of the Board of Peace do not believe Israel’s rejection of the 15-point peace plan will be a roadblock to stabilizing Gaza, because the Jewish state is not yet needed to act. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet during a meeting on Sunday that he is unambiguous in declaring Israel’s rejection of […]
Israeli PM is insisting on a full Hamas disarmament before the deal can be implemented. Plus, what it feels like to get locked into an opera performance that lasts nearly 24 hoursDon’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a US-backed 15-point peace plan for Gaza in a rare public break with Donald Trump. In a statement, Israel’s prime minister said he was confronting a “wave of rumours about Israeli weakness and Israeli withdrawals on all fronts” and rebuked US pressure to end wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran without Israel’s buy-in.What other developments have happened in the region? Iran has issued tough new demands for reopening the strait of Hormuz, while the United Arab Emirates said one of its ships was targeted by an Iranian missile over the weekend. Tehran said the strait of Hormuz would not open until the US “corrects its behaviour”. Yemen’s Tehran-aligned Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia on Sunday morning.What impact is the conflict having on seafarers in Hormuz? The US-Iran war has stranded up to 20,000 seafarers, mostly Indian and Filipino crews, with none knowing when the nightmare will end. Seventeen seafarers have died since hostilities began, the majority following Iranian strikes.What sort of exercises did they take part in? Justin Vail, who leads the DC office of the non-partisan advocacy group Protect Democracy, said: “These tabletop exercises are a standard planning tool for experts and stakeholders to prepare for potential scenarios. We’re not predicting exactly what would happen. But we do want to create a realistic context that can help us identify gaps, test our assumptions, and strengthen coordination, and then ultimately develop some recommendations to increase our preparedness.”How has Trump been working to undermine confidence in US elections? Voting rights advocates pointed toward Trump’s July primetime address as indicative of the president’s intentions – rhetorical attacks on the integrity of voting machines and elections offices, potentially escalating into more direct interference. Trump threatened the broadcast licenses of networks that refused to carry that address live, and in his speech, he again implored Congress to pass the Save America Act, which would ban mail-in ballots nationwide and impose new identification requirements on voters when they register and report to polls. Continue reading...
The Israeli Prime Minister said Israel does not accept the Board of Peace’s roadmap to disarm Hamas.
President Donald Trump announced on July 30 that his Board of Peace had "reached a HISTORIC agreement" in Gaza that would bring an end to a conflict that has claimed well over 70,000 lives. While the president characterized his proposed resolution as a major win for the Palestinian people and for Israel alike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is evidently of a different mind. 'President Trump will be very, very disappointed.'Netanyahu — whom Trump has rebuked repeatedly in recent months for undermining his initiatives in the region — rejected the Board of Peace's 15-point peace plan on Sunday, telling his cabinet that some of its terms are unacceptable. Peace proposalThe peace plan released by Trump's Board of Peace, which would be undertaken in stages, requires, among other things, that:Israel, Hamas, and "other Palestinian factions" suspend military operations in Gaza;Hamas and other factions in Gaza agree not only that all civilian governance and security functions in Gaza will be taken over by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, but that the committee can carry out its responsibilities independently;the NCAG will oversee the disarmament process;Gaza will be "governed according to the principle of One Authority, One Law, One Weapon";Israeli forces — who presently occupy more than half of Gaza — will execute a phased withdrawal from Gaza; andthe International Stabilization Force will separate Israeli forces from NCAG-controlled areas during the withdrawal. "This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people," Trump said in a statement. "At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks."RELATED: It’s the economy, stupid — again Khan Yunis in the southern Gazan Strip on July 31, 2026. Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images."The threat that emerged from Gaza on October 7 will NOT be allowed to rebuild!" continued the president. "Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE."After announcing the deal, which Hamas accepted through Egyptian mediators, Trump told reporters that "Israel is very happy."While the Israeli security cabinet initially approved of having the International Stabilization Force enter Gaza to aid in the disarmament of Hamas and the transition, top officials called on Netanyahu to reject the plan, reported the Times of Israel.RejectionNetanyahu, who facing both a tough re-election battle and an ongoing corruption trial, told his cabinet on Sunday, "Israel rejects the 15-point document.""The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed," continued Netanyahu. "And 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."The Israeli leader — whose nation is the "largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II" — noted that his government has raised its reservations over the peace deal with Washington."They have ideas," said Netanyahu, apparently referring to the Americans behind the peace deal. "Some of them are acceptable to us and some are unacceptable to us, and we know how to stand up to these things. We have proven this in the past, and we are proving it today as well. In addition, the IDF will continue to thwart threats against our forces and against our citizens."The White House did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.While flatly rejecting Trump's peace plan, Netanyahu nevertheless spoke warmly of the American president."I have great appreciation for President Trump," said the foreign leader. "He is a great friend of ours in the White House. I greatly appreciate the historic partnership with the United States against Iran's attempts to acquire nuclear weapons. And I want to emphasize again: With an agreement or without an agreement, as long as I am prime minister, Iran will not possess nuclear weapons.""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," added Netanyahu.In addition to rejecting the peace deal, Netanyahu rejected the possibility of a Palestinian state in Gaza.The prime minister's remarks were welcomed by various Israeli officials, including finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionist Party. "We went to war with a central goal: the destruction of Hamas," said Smotrich, in a statement reported by the Times of Israel. "The (military) cannot withdraw even a millimeter from the Gaza Strip.
"I want to be precise here: Israel rejects the 15-point document," Netanyahu said at a weekend cabinet meeting.