Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken the unusual step of openly rejecting parts of Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, despite the potential political cost of challenging the US president.
Netanyahu repeatedly stated that Israel does not accept the 15-point document, insisting that the Israeli Defense Forces will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is completely disarmed.
The blunt rejection appears to be driven not only by security concerns, but also by domestic Israeli politics. With general elections approaching in less than 12 weeks, Netanyahu is under pressure from his far-right allies, who strongly oppose any agreement that could involve an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before Hamas gives up its weapons.
Trump has so far avoided directly confronting Netanyahu, while his envoy Nickolay Mladenov has suggested that a phased process could still work—Hamas would first have to demonstrate verifiable steps toward disarmament, followed by an Israeli withdrawal.
Hamas, meanwhile, has said it remains committed to the plan and expects Trump’s Peace Board to pressure Netanyahu to respect it.
The political calculation is clear: Netanyahu needs the support of Israel’s right-wing parties to remain in power after the election. Publicly rejecting Trump therefore allows him to reassure his domestic political base while keeping negotiations alive behind the scenes.
But the biggest losers remain Gaza’s roughly two million residents, who continue to have little influence over decisions determining their future.
In the end, what is being presented as a peace process is also a high-stakes political battle—between Trump’s push for a deal, Netanyahu’s political survival, and Hamas’s refusal to surrender its weapons.
