Trump's Peace Council: Israel's withdrawal will begin after Hamas is disarmed
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Peace Council stated that the withdrawal of Israeli forces behind the Yellow Line in Gaza will begin only after Hamas has been completely disarmed. The announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu objected to the previously announced plan for a phased withdrawal.
Nikolay Mladenov, the Peace Council’s High Representative for Gaza, met with Netanyahu on Monday. Following the meeting, the Peace Council reported that it had reached a common understanding with Israel on the objectives. In a post on X, it noted that Israel’s withdrawal behind the Yellow Line—which demarcates the area where Hamas still maintains control—will take place after the completion of the decommissioning of weapons in accordance with the group’s commitments to the mediators.
Last week, Israel objected to the Peace Council’s text, which proposed a phased withdrawal of forces from the Gaza Strip and an immediate halt to Israeli strikes. Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office, stated that the published version of the document does not reflect Israel’s position. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the text as significantly different from the version presented to Israel’s Security Cabinet and, together with a colleague, demanded a new vote on the plan.
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Trump had previously called the agreement—under which Hamas is to transfer its weapons to the Palestinian governing committee currently being formed—an important milestone. At the same time, Spielman stated that a genuine, verifiable, and irreversible demilitarization of Hamas is a prerequisite for any lasting settlement.
France 24 notes that even if the plan is implemented, Israel will retain control over a significant portion of Gaza under the terms of the October ceasefire brokered by Trump. On Monday, an Israeli strike on a vehicle west of Gaza City killed two Palestinians and wounded several others, according to Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal. The Israeli military told AFP that the targets were two militants.
