Why Israel Said No to the US Peace Plan for Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a United States-led peace plan for Gaza, saying Israeli troops will not leave until Hamas gives up all its weapons. Speaking to his political allies on television on August 9, 2026, Netanyahu said Hamas must be "genuinely disarmed" before any peace deal can move forward (Reuters; NBC News).
The plan, known as the 15-point roadmap, was put together by the United States and is overseen by a group called the Board of Peace and International Stabilization Force. The deal says Hamas must give up its weapons in exchange for Israeli troops leaving Gaza gradually and for a new group of non-political experts to take over running the territory, with an international security force keeping order (Al Jazeera). President Donald Trump first announced the plan in 2025. The UN Security Council — the most powerful body at the United Nations, responsible for maintaining international peace — then adopted a resolution supporting the plan. Netanyahu responded on November 18, 2025, saying Israel "extends its hand in peace" (Israeli Government).
Netanyahu's rejection is a reversal from last autumn. In a joint statement with Trump on September 30, 2025, Netanyahu said he supported the plan to end the war in Gaza, which he said would bring back all Israeli hostages and dismantle Hamas (Israeli Government). Days later, on October 10, he described a plan in which Hamas would be disarmed and Gaza demilitarized. He credited the Trump Plan for isolating Hamas diplomatically and said Hamas agreed to the deal only after that isolation was achieved (Israeli Government).
The disagreement comes down to sequencing — the order in which things happen. The peace plan is designed so that Israeli withdrawal and Hamas disarmament happen at the same time, step by step. Think of it like two people walking toward each other on a bridge: both need to move forward together. Netanyahu insists disarmament must come first and that Israel must be able to verify it. He also drew a line against certain countries joining the security force. Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus Oren Anolik said in February 2026 that Netanyahu had "stated clearly there will be no Turkish soldiers in Gaza," calling this the specific area where Israel disagrees with the United States (Israeli Embassy in Cyprus).
Israel currently maintains military control of more than 70 percent of the Gaza Strip (Al Jazeera). Netanyahu has framed the campaign in broad regional terms, stating that if the Iranians rebuild what was destroyed, Israel would destroy it again (Israeli Government). In a March 2026 statement, he accused the UN of hypocrisy for condemning Israel in what he called its "just war against Iran's murderous proxies in Gaza" (Israeli Government). Israel's official government website states that the country "completely rejects attempts to force it to accept a Palestinian terror state" (Israeli Government).
The Gaza Government Media Office called Netanyahu's rejection of the plan "a clear and explicit coup against the negotiation path and its outcomes" (Al Jazeera). Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty separately described the forced displacement of Gaza's population as a "red line" for Egypt, Arab and Islamic countries (Al Jazeera).
The broader context here is a growing gap between what the Trump administration's plan calls for and what Israel is willing to do. Netanyahu's February 2026 remarks outlined three goals for Gaza, the first of which was returning all hostages (Israeli Government). His March 2025 statement halting goods and supplies into Gaza, which he said had been permitted for the prior 42 days, cited Hamas's theft of aid as justification (Israeli Government). Those positions on hostage recovery and supply restrictions came before the 15-point roadmap existed and have not been publicly reconciled with its phased withdrawal provisions.
What remains unresolved is whether the Board of Peace can bridge the sequencing dispute. The roadmap's logic depends on simultaneous, phased concessions: disarmament, withdrawal, and governance transition moving in lockstep under international supervision. Netanyahu's demand that disarmament come before any withdrawal flips that order. His objection to Turkish participation in any security force further narrows the pool of countries willing to contribute. With Israel controlling more than 70 percent of the strip and Netanyahu restating his rejection to his coalition rather than through diplomatic channels, the plan's path forward is, at minimum, delayed. Whether the US adjusts the plan's terms or applies pressure to close the gap between Netanyahu's public support last September and his rejection now will shape the next phase of this negotiation.
