ISRAELI prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel has rejected US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace 15-point plan and will not withdraw forces from the territory until the Palestinian resistance group Hamas fully disarms.
‘Israel rejects the 15-point document,’ Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting yesterday, referring to the US-backed Gaza peace plan.
The Israeli army ‘will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces’, he added.
‘And when I say disarm Hamas, that means heavy weapons, less-heavy weapons, all weapons. And we are talking about real disarmament, not a fictitious disarmament,’ Netanyahu said.
This comes days after the US-backed board made Israeli withdrawal from the blockaded Palestinian territory conditional on Hamas’s complete disarmament, in a move that runs counter to the terms of last year’s agreement, even as Israel has yet to fulfil its own withdrawal commitments.
In a statement last week, the board said Israeli forces would not withdraw beyond the so-called ‘Yellow Line’ until the Palestinian resistance movement had fully completed the decommissioning of its weapons.
Meanwhile, Hamas yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to the roadmap agreed upon with mediators and the Board of Peace to complete the second phase of the plan for Gaza.
In a statement, the Palestinian movement said it remains serious about ‘responsibly engaging’ in the implementation of the 15-point plan and establishing a clear timetable for its execution.
‘The priority at this stage must be to ensure the implementation of all phases and obligations of the agreement,’ Hamas said.
The movement added that the process should lead to a complete ceasefire, an end to Israeli attacks, the completion of Israel’s withdrawal, the reopening of crossings, the entry of humanitarian aid and shelter supplies, the start of reconstruction, and the enabling of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to begin its duties.
Hamas called on the mediators, guarantors and the Board of Peace to ‘shoulder their responsibilities’, ensure that all parties comply with the agreement, and prevent violations that could obstruct its implementation or undermine the ceasefire.
