WhatsappPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn a clear line regarding the future of Gaza: Israel will not withdraw from territory currently held by the IDF until Hamas has been genuinely disarmed.
Netanyahu announced that Israel rejects the Board of Peace’s 15-point Gaza plan, making clear that any diplomatic framework must conform to Israel’s fundamental security requirements rather than force Israel to surrender its military leverage before those requirements are met.
“The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed,” Netanyahu said.
That sentence goes to the heart of the dispute.
For Israel, the issue is not simply whether Hamas formally agrees to disarmament. The question is whether Hamas actually loses the military capabilities that allowed it to carry out the October 7 massacre and wage war against Israel.
Israel has learned the consequences of confusing diplomatic promises with realities on the ground.
The 2005 Gaza disengagement removed every Israeli soldier and Jewish community from Gaza. Instead of producing peace, the territory eventually became a massive terrorist stronghold filled with rockets, tunnels and armed Hamas forces.
Israel cannot afford to repeat that mistake.
Any Israeli withdrawal conducted before Hamas is verifiably disarmed risks creating another security vacuum. Hamas could use that space to regroup, rebuild its military infrastructure, recruit new terrorists and prepare for another round of war.
That is why the territory currently controlled by the IDF represents more than a negotiating position. It is strategic leverage.
Netanyahu’s message therefore appears straightforward: disarmament must come first. Withdrawal can only be discussed afterward.
The broader question is whether international negotiators will accept Israel’s post-October 7 security doctrine or continue promoting frameworks based on Israeli withdrawals followed by promises of future demilitarization.
For Netanyahu, that sequence is no longer acceptable.
Israel is insisting that the reality on the ground change first.
Only then can the map change.
