Netanyahu Rejects Trump's Gaza Peace Deal, Citing Security Needs

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly rejected a Gaza peace deal proposed by his close ally, US President Donald Trump. Netanyahu stated his government remains committed to what he termed ‘security needs’ in the Gaza Strip. The Gaza deal, announced by Trump and his Board of Peace on 31 July, includes a detailed roadmap for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, covering security, administrative, and transitional arrangements in the Strip, as well as a proposed political pathway. The agreement, based on Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, also addresses the disarmament of Hamas—described by Hamas as the collection of heavy weapons without Tel Aviv’s involvement—and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu, as reported by Anadolu Agency and Middle East Monitor on Thursday, reiterated his rejection of the Gaza deal, despite having received assurances from the Board of Peace that Israeli troop withdrawal would only occur after Hamas disarms. In a video posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu said the Trump team ‘believes they can achieve the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarisation of Gaza’. ‘We are examining it. They sent us a draft—we did not agree to it, it is not our draft. We have sent our response,’ Netanyahu said in the video statement. This statement came after the Israeli newspaper Hayom, citing unnamed Israeli sources, reported that the Israeli PM conveyed his rejection during a meeting with the Board of Peace’s chief envoy for Gaza affairs, Nickolay Mladenov, on Monday. Netanyahu stressed in his video statement that his government remains committed to what he called ‘security needs’ in the Gaza Strip. He reiterated that the Israeli military will not withdraw from its positions in the Gaza Strip until Hamas is fully disarmed. Netanyahu said his government has instructed the Israeli military to ‘take all necessary steps’ to protect soldiers, civilians, and Israeli territory. He added that any future arrangement regarding Gaza must ensure that security threats do not re-emerge. This development comes as pressure mounts on the Israeli PM from the right-wing flank of his governing coalition to reject the Gaza deal. Two far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet called for a re-vote on the Gaza deal on Tuesday, arguing it did not reflect what had been previously discussed. The call for a re-vote came after Israel’s security cabinet, according to AFP reports, had actually approved the Gaza deal through a vote among ministers and government officials in Tel Aviv.