Hamas has called on the United States to pressure Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to “adhere to the roadmap and not obstruct the process for internal political or electoral reasons”, Bassem Naim, a member of the movement's political bureau, told AFP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he “rejects” the American roadmap for the Gaza Strip, which has been accepted by Hamas, distancing himself from his ally, US President Donald Trump, in what appears to be an effort to satisfy his electoral base ahead of the crucial October elections.
For Nikolay Mladenov, the High Representative of President Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza, however, the plan represents “the only path” to preventing an attack similar to that of 7 October 2023, as the Bulgarian diplomat told Israel's Channel 12.
Netanyahu had already expressed reservations about the text, which in theory launches the second phase of Trump's plan, insisting that a “real” disarmament of Hamas is a necessary precondition for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
The document provoked furious reactions from the Israeli prime minister's far-right allies, who rejected the 15-point plan presented at the end of July by the Board of Peace.
Hamas urged the Americans to apply pressure on Netanyahu and his government so they would “adhere to the roadmap and not obstruct the process for internal political or electoral reasons”, Naim told AFP.
The Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal unless Hamas has genuinely disarmed”, Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday, stressing that Israel “does not accept the 15-point document”.
He described President Trump as “Israel's greatest friend in the White House”, but made clear that he was prepared to oppose him.
“The Americans have ideas. Some are acceptable to us, others are not, and we know how to defend our positions on these issues.”
Relations between the two men appeared to deteriorate in April, when, during negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, Donald Trump criticised his Israeli ally in unusually harsh terms, accusing him of creating obstacles.
Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in modern Israeli history, is not guaranteed victory in the 27 October parliamentary elections, according to opinion polls. The vote will be the first since Hamas' attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
Polling also indicates that the US plan is unpopular among much of the Israeli right-wing electorate. Netanyahu's far-right allies are even more opposed and are demanding that the proposal be abandoned.
Hamas accepted the document, which, according to the public version released by Trump's Peace Council, links the group's disarmament to the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas of the enclave they currently occupy.
Referring to Israeli concerns following his meeting with Netanyahu on Monday, Mladenov said Israeli forces would withdraw only after the “complete” disarmament of Hamas.
The envoy for Gaza said on Sunday that talks with Israel were ongoing and that he hoped they would produce “a positive outcome for everyone”.
“If there is genuine disarmament, then Israel will withdraw,” he argued.
The document stipulates that the disarmament and storage of Hamas' arsenal would be guaranteed by the Gaza National Governance Committee, a Palestinian technocratic body tasked with managing day-to-day affairs during the transitional phase.
Its members remain stranded in Egypt because Israel has refused to allow them entry into the enclave.
A fragile ceasefire has been in effect in the Gaza Strip since October 2025.
Egypt, a key mediator, urged all parties on Sunday to “honour their commitments” and refrain from any action that could undermine the progress achieved so far, according to a conversation between Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Nikolay Mladenov.
Hamas has long maintained that its disarmament would be gradual and that there would be no immediate unilateral surrender of its arsenal. It has also insisted that it will not hand its weapons over to Israel.
The Israeli government, by contrast, is demanding the destruction of Hamas' weapons stockpiles.
Referring to talks with the United States, Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday his demand that the Palestinian Islamist movement surrender “the heavy weapons, the less heavy weapons, all weapons”, stressing that he would not accept a “cosmetic disarmament”.
The Israeli military appears to have reduced, though not halted, its operations in the Gaza Strip following last week's announcement regarding Hamas' disarmament.
Source: CNA
