Netanyahu rejects Board of Peace Gaza plan, demands full Hamas disarmament before any IDF withdrawal

In focus after Sunday's Cabinet session in Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's outright rejection of the Board of Peace's 15-point Gaza proposal, a development that widens the gap between Israel's disarmament-first condition and the roadmap that Hamas says it still supports. Netanyahu told ministers the Israel Defense Forces will not pull back from Gaza until Hamas surrenders every weapon it holds. The next confirmable milestone is whether the United States can reconcile Netanyahu's sequencing demand with the framework mediators agreed with Hamas representatives in Cairo ten days ago.

The disarmament condition Netanyahu is drawing

Netanyahu did not leave room for interpretation. "It needs to be genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament," he said, adding that his definition covers heavy weapons and lighter arms alike, with nothing excluded. Israel confirmed it remains in dialogue with Washington over Hamas disarmament but insisted any agreement must result in a full surrender of the group's arsenal. The sequencing matters: Netanyahu wants disarmament first, withdrawal after. That order runs counter to what Hamas has indicated it will accept.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters the group remains committed to the Gaza roadmap agreed with mediators and Board of Peace representatives in Cairo. Naim said Hamas expects the United States and mediators to press Netanyahu's government to adhere to it.

Where this leaves the broader peace effort

Trump said last month a breakthrough had occurred and that Hamas had agreed to lay down its weapons. Netanyahu's Sunday remarks sit uncomfortably alongside that framing without directly contradicting it. He said Israel will continue working with Washington while holding firm on its core security demands. He also ruled out a Palestinian state in Gaza or the West Bank, a position he said holds as long as he remains prime minister.

Israel has continued military operations in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect last October. Netanyahu said the military recently acted "forcefully" in Lebanon and described that activity as significant, offering no operational detail.

Iran and what to watch

Netanyahu addressed Iran directly Sunday, saying Tehran has refrained from striking Israel because of the response it would face. He credited Trump and the U.S.-Israel alliance for efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and stated that Iran will not obtain a nuclear weapon while he is in office, with or without a formal agreement.

What to watch: whether Washington issues a formal response to Netanyahu's rejection of the 15-point document, and whether the mediator-backed Cairo roadmap moves toward a definitive agreement or stalls on the disarmament sequencing that now separates the two sides.