{"id":1375,"date":"2026-08-12T14:29:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/12\/netanyahu-rejects-trumps-gaza-roadmap-history-tells-us-israel-may-be-planning-to-stay\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T14:29:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:29:50","slug":"netanyahu-rejects-trumps-gaza-roadmap-history-tells-us-israel-may-be-planning-to-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/12\/netanyahu-rejects-trumps-gaza-roadmap-history-tells-us-israel-may-be-planning-to-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu rejects Trump\u2019s Gaza roadmap \u2013 history tells us Israel may be planning to stay"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent decision by Benjamin Netanyahu to reject<\/a> the Board of Peace plan for Gaza sponsored by the US president Donald Trump is concerning \u2013 but is hardly surprising. <\/p>\n

The 15-point roadmap<\/a>, published by Trump\u2019s Board of Peace, envisages Hamas\u2019 disarmament<\/a> and Israel\u2019s phased withdrawal from the Gaza Strip<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Palestinian territory would then be run by the US-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza<\/a> \u2013 a transitional body consisting of Palestinian technocrats. The plan was endorsed in November 2025 by UN security council resolution 2803<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the end of July, Hamas said it had accepted the deal<\/a> and would begin a staged disarmament process \u2013 provided Israel carried out its own obligations under the deal, to end \u201call forms of aggression\u201d and withdraw its forces from Gaza.<\/p>\n

Hamas\u2019s disarmament had been a major sticking point in talks, and its acceptance of the plan was touted as a breakthrough. But Netanyahu has now put it in doubt, stating<\/a> that Israel \u201cwill not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed\u201d. <\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s stance will not have improved Netanyahu\u2019s often fractious relationship<\/a> with Trump. Despite boasting<\/a> about their closeness, Netanyahu has repeatedly drawn Trump\u2019s ire both publicly and privately for his refusal to acquiesce to US demands.<\/p>\n

In June, the US president shouted and swore at the Israeli prime minister in an angry phone call<\/a> over Israel continuing its aggression in Lebanon, despite the memorandum of understanding which mandated a ceasefire in both Iran and southern Lebanon. And last summer, he posted a warning<\/a> online for Israel to cease its bombardment of Iran.<\/p>\n

With Israeli elections scheduled for October, and Netanyahu\u2019s domestic approval ratings at 33%<\/a>, his ability to manage Israel\u2019s relationship with its closest ally \u2013 something he has long cited as a strength<\/a> \u2013 is under the spotlight.<\/p>\n

But, while Netanyahu faces significant internal opposition, his policies towards the Palestinians in general and Gaza in particular are typically areas of consensus in Israeli politics. If there are differences among mainstream parties, it tends to be over details and tactics, rather than the overall military strategy. <\/p>\n

When Netanyahu\u2019s defence minister, Israel Katz, declared<\/a> that Israel \u201cwill never leave all of Gaza\u201d, his statement was not an outlier among the Israeli political establishment. <\/p>\n

In fact, Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu\u2019s main challenger for the premiership \u2013 who served in Netanyahu\u2019s cabinet for the first eight months of the war on Gaza \u2013 also opposes the Trump deal<\/a> and Palestinian sovereignty. He
\nboasted recently<\/a>: \u201cI have never in all my 66 years said the words \u2018Palestinian state\u2019.\u201d Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, has similarly voiced support<\/a> for Israeli territorial expansionism.<\/p>\n

This shared opposition to relinquishing control of Gaza is perhaps unsurprising in view of public opinion<\/a>. Since October 2023, polls have shown increased Israeli support<\/a> for annexing and settling Gaza. In one poll taken in June 2025, 82%<\/a> of Jewish Israelis were found to support the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli support for Palestinian statehood is at a historic low<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s long claim on Gaza<\/h2>\n

Israeli claims on Gaza long predate the current era. Israel insists its current occupation of Gaza is in response to Hamas\u2019s aggression, most notably its brutal attack of October 7 2023. Yet, as I discuss in my book A Short History of the Gaza Strip<\/a>, Israel first invaded Gaza in 1956 \u2013 more than 30 years before Hamas was created, and 50 years before it came to power in the Palestinian enclave. <\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion \u2013 the country\u2019s longest-serving premier before Netanyahu \u2013 first proposed annexing<\/a> Gaza as early as 1949, during talks at the Lausanne Conference<\/a> on Palestine. His proposal failed \u2013 but the idea remained. Six years later, Ben-Gurion \u2013 then serving as defence minister \u2013 tried to push through a cabinet proposal for Israel to occupy Gaza.<\/p>\n

\n \"Portrait
\n Israel\u2019s founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, wanted to annex Gaza as long ago as 1949.<\/span>
\n National Photo Collection of Israel<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1955, foreign minister Golda Meir (who would herself go on to be Israel\u2019s prime minister) declared openly that Gaza was \u201can integral part of Israel\u201d<\/a>. These were not just words. A year after Meir\u2019s statement, Israel invaded and occupied Gaza for the first time<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Israel withdrew from Gaza after four months following direct intervention by US president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, but during that time the occupying regime developed plans for building Jewish settlements in Gaza. When it reoccupied the Strip a decade later<\/a>, it put those plans into action.<\/p>\n

Israel has arguably remained the occupying power in Gaza since 1967. Although it removed its settlements and redeployed its military<\/a> in 2005, it never relinquished control of Gaza\u2019s airspace, water, commercial crossing and entry points, fuel, electricity, or population register. <\/p>\n

As a result, many legal experts<\/a> have argued that Israel continued<\/a> to occupy Gaza<\/a> after 2005, despite the evacuation. In 2023, of course, its military re-entered on the ground too.<\/p>\n

Israeli plans today<\/h2>\n

For most of its history, then, Israel has occupied Gaza, a fact that may shed further light on its politicians\u2019 views today. And as in 1956, Israel is now developing plans to maintain its occupation long into the future. Last month, Katz confirmed<\/a> funding to establish three new military outputs in northern Gaza of the kind that historically preceded civilian settlements. <\/p>\n

And while Netanyahu has claimed that Israel will not resettle Gaza, his Likud party recently sponsored<\/a> a far-right rally calling for exactly that. Members of Netanyahu\u2019s cabinet took part.<\/p>\n

In view of all this, it is unsurprising that Netanyahu has rejected a proposal for leaving Gaza. But finding a way forward may need to go much deeper than simply replacing him. <\/p>\n

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Anne Irfan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent decision by Benjamin Netanyahu to reject the Board of Peace plan for Gaza sponsored by the US president Donald Trump is concerning \u2013 but is hardly surprising. The 15-point roadmap, published by Trump\u2019s Board of Peace, envisages Hamas\u2019 disarmament and Israel\u2019s phased withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian territory would then be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1375\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}