Netanyahu rejects Trump's Gaza roadmap, refuses withdrawal until Hamas is 'completely disarmed'

WASHINGTON, DC: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected key parts of President Donald Trump's proposed Gaza roadmap, dismissing a US-backed draft that sought Hamas' disarmament and ruling out any Israeli withdrawal from current military positions in the enclave.

The remarks, made on Tuesday, August 4, exposed a growing divide between Washington and Jerusalem after Trump recently declared that a breakthrough had been reached on the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups as part of an effort to end the war in Gaza.

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel rejected Donald Trump's Gaza proposal

Netanyahu confirmed that Trump's administration had shared a draft proposal centered on Hamas' disarmament and the demilitarisation of Gaza, but said Israel refused to accept it.

“President Trump and his team think they can bring Hamas to disarm and demilitarise Gaza. They sent us a draft; we did not agree to it”, Netanyahu said.

He stressed that Israel had already submitted its own comments before reports about the proposal surfaced publicly.

“It's not our draft. We sent our comments. By the way, we sent our comments before we received a media campaign on the matter. This is our position. And we are standing firm on our interests, I think, with both wisdom and with firmness”, he said.

Netanyahu's comments directly contradicted Trump's recent suggestion that Israel supported the proposed framework, indicating clear differences between the two allies over how the conflict should move forward.

Benjamin Netanyahu rules out troop withdrawal from Gaza

Netanyahu also dismissed any suggestion that Israel would scale back its military operations or withdraw troops from areas currently under Israeli control.

“We will not withdraw from our current lines until Hamas is completely wiped out”, he said.

His comments came after Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had rejected major parts of Trump's Gaza roadmap during a meeting with Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's lead envoy for Gaza.

As per the reports, Israel's National Security Council had already communicated the government's reservations to both the Board of Peace and Trump's team.

Netanyahu maintained that Hamas continues rebuilding its military capabilities and still poses a direct threat to both Israeli forces and nearby communities, making any immediate ceasefire unacceptable from Israel's perspective.

Donald Trump calls proposal a major breakthrough

Only days before Netanyahu's remarks, Trump had celebrated what he described as a major diplomatic success.

Calling the proposal “a great breakthrough”, the US president said it would secure the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups.

“It's a big step for the Middle East, and people are really impressed by it, and they're surprised by it”, Trump said.

However, Hamas also indicated that significant hurdles remain before any agreement could move forward.

Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad described the proposal as “difficult and painful” but said progress would depend on Israel ending military operations, withdrawing its forces and allowing greater humanitarian access into Gaza.

Under the roadmap backed by Trump's Board of Peace, heavy weapons, military production facilities, weapons depots and tunnels would be dismantled and placed under the supervision of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, while civilian governance would gradually replace armed control.