Netanyahu says Israel didn’t agree to US-backed Gaza plan as far-right pressure grows
World

Netanyahu says Israel didn’t agree to US-backed Gaza plan as far-right pressure grows

Economy World



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel did not agree to the US-backed plan for Gaza, even after receiving assurances that an Israeli pull-out would only happen after Hamas disarms.
In a video posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday night, Netanyahu said the team of US President Donald Trump “believes that they can bring about the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarisation of Gaza”.

“We are checking this. They sent us a draft – we did not agree to it, it is not our draft. We sent our comments,” he said.

Netanyahu met with the US-backed Board of Peace on Monday and received guarantees that the Israeli army would only be required to leave its current positions in Gaza after Hamas disarms.

But pressure has been growing on Netanyahu from the right flank of his ruling coalition to reject the deal.

Two far-right ministers requested a new vote on the plan Tuesday, saying it did not reflect what had originally been discussed.

Israel’s security cabinet, in which the two ministers sit, already voted in favour of the proposal, which would see, among other things, the deployment of international peacekeeping troops in the Gaza Strip.