Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel has not agreed to the recently announced plan of the Peace Council for the disarmament of the Palestinian armed group “Hamas“ in the Gaza Strip. According to him, Israel has received a “draft” of the agreement and has responded with comments, not approval, reported DPA, quoted by BTA.
Netanyahu made the statement in a video message posted on social networks. This is the first official public reaction of Israel to the proposed plan, which envisages “Hamas“ to hand over its weapons in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that the Peace Council had reached an agreement for the “complete disarmament“ of “Hamas“, but the news was met with skepticism.
The main dispute is over the sequence of the disarmament process and when and under what conditions the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw from Gaza. Netanyahu stressed that Israeli forces will not withdraw from their current positions until “Hamas“ did not hand over its weapons.
In recent months, the Israeli army has expanded its control over the Palestinian enclave, currently controlling over 60% of its territory, up from around 53% before.
According to the newspaper “Times of Israel“, Netanyahu's statement means that Israel is not inclined to withdraw even to the line that was initially agreed upon in the framework of the ceasefire agreement.
For its part, “Hamas“ has made the handover of its heavy weapons conditional on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. Whether the proposed plan can be implemented remains uncertain, DPA notes.