Israel opposes Gaza peace plan ‘in its current form,’ minister says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that Israel will not pull back from its current positions in the Gaza Strip until Hamas is completely disarmed.

By JNS

The Israeli government opposes the U.S.-backed Board of Peace’s 15-point Roadmap for Gaza “in its current form,” Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen said on Saturday, adding that “Hamas is planning a deception.”

Hamas “will say that it intends to abide by the agreement, hand over some of its weapons, and obtain what we used to call, in the language of the past, a hudna. [But] the era of hudna is over,” Cohen told Israel’s Channel 14 broadcaster.

“Hudna” means truce or armistice in Arabic. Hamas has used ceasefires in the past only to regroup ahead of renewed assaults on the Jewish state.

Cohen continued, “Ultimately, Hamas is a murderous terrorist organization. We do not believe a single piece of paper that Hamas [signs].”

Netanyahu publicly rejected the 15-point framework last week, stating that no Israeli withdrawal will occur before full disarmament.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamas informed the Trump administration that it agrees to the terms of the Roadmap that requires the terrorist group to lay down its weapons and transfer rule over Gaza to a technocratic Palestinian body, AFP reported.

“Hamas and other factions have confirmed to mediators their readiness to begin implementing the agreement and move to the second phase, provided it receives Israeli approval and that Israel begins implementing the agreement,” a Hamas official told the news agency.

“Hamas is urging the U.S. administration to exert pressure on Israel to compel it to abide by the agreement and move to the second phase,” the unnamed terrorist continued.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that Israel will not pull back from its current positions in the Gaza Strip until Hamas is completely disarmed.

“I am standing firm on our security interests: We will not withdraw from our current lines until Hamas is completely disarmed,” Netanyahu said in a Hebrew-language video posted to his Facebook page.

He added that Israel Defense Forces soldiers had been instructed “to do everything necessary to defend themselves, to defend our territory, to defend our citizens.”

U.S. President Donald Trump and his team believe they can persuade Hamas to demilitarize the Gaza Strip, he said, adding, “We are examining that.”