The Japan Times - Netanyahu rejects Gaza plan in new break from Trump

After more than a week of gradually escalating criticism of the plan, and despite receiving assurances that Israel would not need to start withdrawing in Gaza immediately, Netanyahu explicitly opposed the deal following pushback from his right-wing allies.

"Israel rejects the 15-point document," Netanyahu said, referring to the plan Hamas agreed to in late July.

The Israeli military "will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens", he told a cabinet meeting.

Netanyahu described Trump, who had hailed the Gaza deal as a milestone for peace, as "our greatest friend in the White House" -- but quickly made clear he was willing to challenge him, saying Israel was raising its objections with the United States.

"They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand our ground on these matters," he said.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, is running even or trailing in some polls ahead of October 27 elections, the country's first since the devastating October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the Gaza war.

Polls show that the Gaza plan is unpopular with Netanyahu's right-wing base, and far-right members of his cabinet have urged him to kill it.

- 'Only way forward' -

The head of Trump's body implementing the plan, dubbed the Board of Peace, defended the plan as a way to prevent a repeat of October 7.

"The option we are offering today is the only way forward that ensures this tragedy does not happen again," Nickolay Mladenov, the board's high representative for Gaza, told Israel's Channel 12 television.

He said he hoped for a "positive outcome" from follow-up discussions with Israel, and characterised the latest stage of the deal as a commitment involving the United States, Hamas and the Board of Peace -- notably leaving out Israel.

Mladenov again promised that Israel would not face any obligations until Hamas gave up all its weapons, down to Kalashnikov rifles -- but said Israel would eventually need to pull out.

Hamas, which publicly backed the plan days after selecting a new leader, Khalil al-Hayya, called on Washington to push Netanyahu.

"We expect the mediators and the American guarantor to pressure Netanyahu and his government to adhere to the roadmap, and not obstruct the process for internal political and electoral reasons," Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, told AFP.

Hamas in a statement said it was still committed to the plan.

- Friction with Trump -

Netanyahu until recently campaigned on the strength of his relationship with Trump, who has taken unprecedented steps to back Israel, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Trump joined Netanyahu in late February in launching a war against Iran, but the two diverged when Trump sought a ceasefire and subsequent settlement to the conflict as it sapped his popularity and sent oil prices soaring.

Netanyahu told his cabinet that "with an agreement or without an agreement, as long as I am prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons", a goal he has long alleged Tehran is pursuing.

Netanyahu last week also ordered fresh strikes on Lebanon in response to what Israel called a ceasefire violation by Iran-backed Hezbollah, just as Israel and Lebanon were holding US-mediated talks.

The Gaza plan was the latest stage in a US-brokered ceasefire announced in October that has reduced, but not ended, Israeli operations there.

Despite Netanyahu's stance, Israel appears to have decreased operations in Gaza since the deal was announced, without halting them completely.

Israeli gunfire on Sunday injured several people including a child who was taken to hospital in Khan Yunis, civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

Israeli operations in Gaza have killed 1,258 Palestinians since the ceasefire, according to the territory's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period.

S.Ogawa--JT