Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a U.S.-backed 15-point peace proposal for Gaza, marking a rare public disagreement with President Donald Trump over how to end the conflict.
Netanyahu said he was responding to what he described as a “wave of rumours about Israeli weakness and Israeli withdrawals on all fronts.” He also pushed back against pressure for Israel to end military conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran without first securing Israeli agreement.
Trump’s Board of Peace proposed the 15-point plan in July. The proposal calls for Hamas to disarm in exchange for a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and the eventual transfer of authority to an independent Palestinian national committee.
Trump said the agreement would be implemented in stages. Netanyahu, however, said Sunday that Hamas must first be fully disarmed before Israel implements the deal.
The disagreement comes as tensions continue to spread across the wider Middle East.
Iran maintains demands over Strait of Hormuz
Iran has issued new conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that the United States must change its conduct before the strategically important waterway can reopen.
The United Arab Emirates also said one of its ships was targeted by an Iranian missile over the weekend.
Iran has maintained that the Strait will remain closed until the United States “corrects its behaviour.”
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for an attack on an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
The conflict is also creating major disruptions for maritime workers. Up to 20,000 seafarers, many of them Indian and Filipino crew members, have reportedly been stranded around the Strait of Hormuz. Seventeen seafarers have died since hostilities began, according to the report.
