Netanyahu’s demand for a complete disarmament of Hamas before any IDF troop withdrawal has stalled Trump’s 15-point Gaza peace roadmap, which relies on synchronized, phased concessions.
Introduction
President Trump’s Gaza peace plan was meant to transform the disputed territory into the Riviera of the Middle East. The establishment of the Board of Peace, which comprised prominent Muslim countries, became the basis of the so-called ‘eternal’ peace in the region. Trump’s strategy was to convert the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas into a structured path, which would include disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, and reconstruction.
While the situation seemed to be moving in a positive direction, the recent rejection of Trump’s 15-point peace plan by Israel’s Netanyahu seems to exacerbate the already volatile situation. The problem is that Washington sees disarmament and withdrawal as interconnected steps; Netanyahu insists that disarmament must come first.
What Does Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan Actually Propose?
The 15-point roadmap was developed by the US, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt and published recently by Trump’s Board of Peace. The same day, the president called Hamas’s approval a historic breakthrough. Under the roadmap, a national committee for the administration of Gaza would take over all weapons and governance from Hamas.
The roadmap says this process shall be linked to an Israeli withdrawal in phases. The roadmap also talks of creating a credible pathway towards achieving Palestinian self-determination and statehood. By this week, both sides were supposed to agree on a timetable for this plan, but now Israel has publicly walked away from both its withdrawal and from a Palestinian state.
Hamas’s Conditional Acceptance and the Disarmament Question
In July 2026, Hamas disbanded its government in Gaza and demonstrated its willingness to fully hand over power to a UN-sponsored technical committee as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. Nevertheless, Hamas did not clarify if it was prepared to undertake the vital move of disarming or transferring security responsibilities to an international force but described it as proof of its commitment towards the reconstruction of Gaza after many years of warfare. The decision of Hamas came after nearly ten months of negotiations and seems to come from several pressures that built up over time.
To begin with, the constant military pressure by Israel diminished the territorial control of Hamas and led to the loss of its operatives. Moreover, the political pressure on Hamas by Turkey and Qatar, which are both close allies of Hamas, came from the need to show their importance to the Trump administration and stabilize the region. Lastly, the recent leadership changes within Hamas resulted in the rise of the power of Khalil al-Hayya, who has been heavily involved in negotiations in the past, which was also a positive development from the Hamas side.
Israel Says No: Netanyahu Draws a Red Line<
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has explicitly refused to accept the latest US Government-backed attempt at peace in Gaza because he finds their proposed disarmament process “unacceptable.” He explicitly stated, “They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us, and some are unacceptable to us. The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until the dismantling of Hamas and its weapons. And when I say dismantling Hamas and its weapons, that means heavy weaponry, less heavy weaponry, and smaller arms—all weaponry. We’re talking about a true dismantling, not a fictitious dismantling.”
None of this is a surprise. Though in Gaza today, American soldiers working for the Board of Peace are still setting up a base for international peacekeepers as if the roadmap were still leading somewhere. Only Uganda and Morocco have committed troops so far. Meanwhile, the Board of Peace’s chief negotiator is suggesting Hamas will have to disarm before Israel withdraws. Nickolay Mladenov, High Representative of the Board of Peace, while speaking to Israeli Channel 12, mentioned, “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.”
Why Did Israel Reject the Plan?
For Israel, it’s definitely too early to know whether this nascent peace plan will be achieved or not. It’s impossible to imagine that Hamas will voluntarily abandon its weapons, its tunnels, and its RPG missiles, given that Israel never stopped bombing Gaza. Nevertheless, there are a few explanations for why Israel is currently backing off the plan.
In Israel, there are about 78 days left until general elections. Undoubtedly, Gaza is a very hot issue. There is not one senior politician in Israel who could support the plan and remain popular in the eyes of the masses, since acceptance of the plan would seem like Israel is surrendering to Hamas’s wishes.
Furthermore, for Israel, there are a few controversial issues within the 15-point peace plan. Firstly, there is the issue of Turkey and Qatar, both of which are pro-Hamas, overseeing the progress. The second is that instead of withdrawing the weapons from the Gaza Strip completely, they are to be kept within the warehouses of the Gaza Strip, which means Hamas will have its weapons just one wall away. And the third issue is that of the partial withdrawal of Israel before Hamas disarms itself completely.
What Comes Next? Compromise, U.S. Pressure, or a Return to Deadlock?
The most practical solution for both sides is to work together in such a way that the disarming of Hamas and Israel’s withdrawal take place in a step-by-step manner. This will help Israel to fulfill its security concerns, while Hamas will have to disarm itself and lay down its arms – something Israel is pushing for. However, in this case, if Israel creates more hindrances, the Trump administration will have to force Israel to comply by twisting its arms politically and diplomatically. This will test the extent of the influence of the US on its most loyal ally in the Middle East region. If there is no compromise from either side, then talks may stall, and the ceasefire will become more vulnerable.
Conclusion
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” (Martin Luther King Jr.)
Indeed, the Gaza peace deal proposed by Trump has not failed because peace is unattainable; rather, it has stumbled because there are discrepancies between Israel and Hamas concerning the order of the concessions. While Israel insists on disarmament before withdrawal, the framework provided by the U.S. demands reciprocity and phased concessions. The real challenge is whether Trump will be able to reconcile this sequencing issue without causing the Gaza peace process to start afresh.
Aleena Im is an independent researcher and writer and is interested in international relations and current affairs
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