Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a draft proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump’s administration on the disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza, asserting that Israeli forces will not withdraw from their current positions until Hamas is completely disarmed.
In a video statement posted on Instagram, Netanyahu said Israel would not compromise on its security interests and reaffirmed that military operations would continue until Hamas is disarmed.
“I stand firm on our security interests. We will not withdraw from our current lines until Hamas is completely disarmed,” Netanyahu said.
He revealed that the Trump administration had shared a draft proposal aimed at disarming Hamas and demilitarising Gaza, but said Israel rejected it and submitted its own comments before the plan became public.
“President Trump and his team think they can bring Hamas to disarm and demilitarize Gaza. We are looking into it. They sent us a draft, we didn’t agree to it, it’s not our draft. We sent our comments. By the way, we sent our comments before there was a media campaign about it,” he said.
Netanyahu also said Israeli troops had been instructed to take all necessary measures to protect themselves and the country’s security.
“I gave our forces clear instructions to do whatever is necessary to defend themselves, defend our territory, and defend our citizens,” he said.
Reiterating Israel’s position, the Prime Minister added, “This is our position. And we stand firm on our interests. I think both wisely and firmly.”
Netanyahu’s remarks come days after US President Donald Trump described the proposed agreement to disarm Hamas under a new Gaza roadmap as a “great breakthrough” and claimed that Israel was supportive of the understanding.
“We do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it. They’ve been very good about it. Most people said that would be a deal that would be undoable,” Trump had said on Friday.
