The new Board of Peace blueprint to disarm Hamas in Gaza may have been explicitly rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but that is unlikely to be the last word.
The White House has not made an official statement. But according Israeli reports, it is “not bothered” by Netanyahu’s remarks and sees them as political posturing ahead of a contentious general election.
A senior US official is quoted by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid as stating, “We understand Bibi’s political needs,” referring to the Israeli leader by a nickname.
“We have no problem with it as long as he continues to do what we ask – especially regarding restraining attacks in Gaza.”
Israel’s attacks on Gaza appear to have stopped recently, according to Hamas.
Netanyahu Rejects Gaza Plan
Additionally, there is a speculation that Israel is prepared to move forward with the International Stabilization Force (ISF) deployment as part of US President Donald Trump’s peace proposal for Gaza.
In order to safeguard the area, the force, which consists of foreign soldiers, will collaborate with a new Palestinian police force.
According to Israeli public radio Kan News, the first ISF post is still slated to be built by the end of this month among the wreckage of Rafah in southern Gaza, allowing rehabilitation to finally start.
Trump claimed that the Board of Peace had achieved a deal for the total disarming of Hamas and other Palestinian organizations in a post on his Truth Social platform.
What Is the Gaza Peace Roadmap?
Senior Hamas leaders affirmed that they had accepted the new arrangement, subject to Israel’s reciprocal cooperation.
This was seen by many as a significant possible victory in the war. The European Union praised it as a “crucial step” and the UK welcomed it.
But Israel failed to provide an official answer for over a week.
A spokeswoman for Israel only stated that the plan did not “reflect Israel’s positions.” Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right cabinet official, wrote on X that the agreement was “unacceptable.”
Doubts were also increasingly voiced by prominent Israeli opposition figures.
They questioned the plan’s sequencing and if all small guns would be removed.
Netanyahu said, “I wish to be precise here: Israel does not accept the 15-point document.”
Why Netanyahu Opposes the Plan
The prime minister called President Trump “the greatest of our friends in the White House” in the same remark, but said that Israel knew “how to stand firm” against notions that were inappropriate.
There is a general lack of confidence in Israel that Hamas will fulfilll its promises.
For a long time, the Islamist movement has considered “armed struggle” to be a fundamental principle and a justifiable reaction to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. There have been indications of it regaining control of Gaza in recent months.
Israeli analyst Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, stated, “Israel can never agree to retreat anywhere where the terrorist group that caused the worst massacres since the Holocaust is still there and is still ruling the Strip.”
International Stabilization Force Could Be Key
Any such compromises for Netanyahu would be made at a delicate political time.
In the general election, which is set for October 27, he will have an uphill battle. It will be Israel’s first since the attack on October 7th, and three years later, Netanyahu has failed to achieve the “absolute victory” he promised against Hamas.
The Israeli leader is up against “the most consequential election” of his political career, according to former US ambassador and seasoned Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller.”He’s walking a very thin line between appeasing his constituents and avoiding upsetting or alienating President Trump,” he said.
The Board of Peace has been attempting to reassure the Israeli people about the plan in the interim.
Board of Peace Says Disarmament Would Be Verified
Shortly after Netanyahu formally rejected the roadmap, Nickolay Mladenov, the High Commissioner for Gaza, who oversaw months of delicate negotiations with Hamas, spoke on Israel’s Channel 12.
Its objective is to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a danger to Israeli security and that the events of [October 7] will never recur,” he stated.
He claimed the agreement requires “a step-by-step approach” which means: “If there is verified decommissioning of weapons, that they are taken away from the factions and stored and ultimately rendered unusable, Israel then withdraws from Gaza.”
In the end, Mladenov said that nothing was being constructed “on the basis of trust” but rather “verification.”
Hamas Still Supports the Roadmap
The Israeli prime minister has affirmed that negotiations with the United States are still ongoing.
In the meanwhile, there will probably be more intense pressure from Washington.
The US Congress midterm elections in November are another significant election that Trump is anticipating this year.
Due in part to Washington’s unpopular five-month war in Iran, his Republican party may suffer significant losses when gasoline and supermarket costs rise.
In an attempt to achieve a much-needed foreign policy victory, the US president may demand favorable developments in his peace plan for Gaza, as his personal support rating has declined.
