Netanyahu secures key edits to Trump plan to sluggish and restrict Israel's withdrawal from Gaza

[ad_1] WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was bullish on Monday night shortly after leaving the White Home, the place he accepted US President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the conflict in Gaza.

“Now the entire world, together with the Arab and Muslim world, is pressuring Hamas to just accept the phrases that we created along with Trump, to convey again all of the hostages — the residing and the lifeless — whereas the IDF stays within the majority of the Strip,” Netanyahu stated in a video he posted to social media.

“Who would have believed it?!” Netanyahu exclaimed in Hebrew as he basked within the phrases of Trump’s plan.

Netanyahu was naturally attempting to border the journey positively to his base again residence amid headlines from earlier within the day specializing in his apology to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani for Israel’s strike concentrating on Hamas leaders in Doha.

However the premier did, in actual fact, have lots to rejoice, as he managed to safe important Eleventh-hour modifications to the proposal concerning the scope and nature of the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza, together with the disarmament of Hamas.

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By signing up, you conform to the terms The 2 points are arguably probably the most delicate of your complete negotiations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and US President Donald Trump maintain a gathering within the White Home, Washington, DC, September 29, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Hamas’s central demand from the start of the conflict has been for Israel to utterly withdraw from Gaza in change for the hostages.

And whereas it has expressed willingness to surrender governing management of Gaza, the give up of its weapons has been a crimson line, because it acknowledges that they're important for the group to take care of a level of affect within the Strip.

Benchmarks for withdrawal The US sought to handle each of those points, however did so considerably vaguely within the model of its Gaza peace proposal that it offered to Arab and Muslim companions final week.

Level 3 of what was then a 21-point plan obtained by The Occasions of Israel acknowledged that “Israeli forces will withdraw to the battle strains as of when the [US special envoy Steve] Witkoff proposal was offered to organize for hostage launch.”

It didn’t specify which Witkoff proposal, despite the fact that there have been a number of. However the up to date model printed on Monday by the White Home acknowledged that “Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed-upon line.”

US particular envoy to the Center East Steve Witkoff, proper, and Jared Kushner arrive earlier than President Donald Trump holds a information convention with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within the State Eating Room of the White Home, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photograph/Alex Brandon)

This too wasn’t elaborated, but it surely appeared to check with a brand new map that was included within the up to date model that illustrated three phases of Israeli withdrawals from Gaza.

As Netanyahu mentions in his video, the map exhibits that Israeli troops will be capable to stay within the majority of the Gaza Strip even after the primary pullback of IDF troops in preparation for the entire hostages to be launched.

They are going to then be capable to stay in these positions till the Worldwide Stabilization Pressure (ISF) of Arab and Muslim international locations is ready to deploy and totally function to disarm Hamas, the plan states.

Even after the second part of the withdrawal, the IDF will stay in over a 3rd of the Strip, the map signifies.

The third withdrawal will clear the ultimate troops out of Gaza, however the map exhibits {that a} safety buffer zone shall be established alongside the perimeter of your complete Strip, one other Israeli demand aimed toward mitigating the specter of one other October 7-like invasion.

Level 16 of the unique US plan merely acknowledged that the IDF “will progressively hand over the Gaza territory that [it] occup[ies].”

A map of a proposed withdrawal of IDF troops as a part of a deal to finish the conflict in Gaza, printed on September 29, 2025. (White Home)

However the up to date model provides two strains that additional qualify the character of the withdrawal in Israel’s favor, stating that IDF “will withdraw based mostly on requirements, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that shall be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the US.

“Virtually, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF in line with an settlement they are going to make with the transitional authority till they're withdrawn utterly from Gaza, save for a safety perimeter presence that may stay till Gaza is correctly safe from any resurgent terror menace,” the up to date plan provides.

Disarmament phrases On the difficulty of disarmament, too, Netanyahu managed to safe noteworthy modifications following a pair of hours-long conferences with US particular envoy Steve Witkoff and high adviser Jared Kushner at his lodge in New York on Thursday and Sunday.

Whereas final week’s model grants amnesty to “Hamas members who decide to peaceable coexistence,” the plan printed Monday provides that these members additionally should “decommission their weapons.”

Level 13 of the plan initially acknowledged, “There shall be full dedication to destroy and cease constructing any offensive navy.”

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depart on the conclusion of a joint press convention within the State Eating Room of the White Home in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2025. (Jim WATSON / AFP)

However the up to date model went into a lot better element on the difficulty, stating that “all navy, terror, and offensive infrastructure, together with tunnels and weapon manufacturing amenities, shall be destroyed and never rebuilt.”

“There shall be a strategy of demilitarization of Gaza below the supervision of unbiased displays, which is able to embody inserting weapons completely past use via an agreed strategy of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy-back and reintegration program, all verified by the unbiased displays,” the Monday-publicized plan states.

Arab mediator much less bullish than Netanyahu A diplomat from one of many mediating international locations mirrored that whereas Arab and Muslim leaders obtained vital face time with Trump final week throughout a multilateral assembly on the UN Common Meeting sidelines, Netanyahu managed to safe “the final phrase,” convincing Washington to make extra modifications to the plan at some extent within the course of when it was a lot tougher for them to intervene.

Talking to Trump final additionally allowed Netanyahu to safe one thing of a concession from the US president when the latter made some extent of acknowledging the Israeli premier’s “perceive[able] opposition to a Palestinian state” — considerably deflating the proposal envisioning a pathway to a Palestinian statehood, even when that pathway was removed from definitive.

Palestinians look via rubble following an Israeli airstrike on a home within the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza Metropolis, September 26, 2025. (Fathi Ibrahim/FLASH90)

The Arab diplomat stated will probably be troublesome to persuade Hamas to just accept the US proposal as is, on condition that it might pressure the phobia group to surrender all of its leverage by releasing all remaining hostages within the first 72 hours of the deal, whereas initially solely securing a really partial withdrawal of Israeli troops.

The diplomat stated it's going to doubtless take at the very least a number of days for Hamas to reply at which level it's going to doubtless have amendments of its personal that it's going to attempt to submit like Netanyahu did, although, Witkoff prior to now has demanded that Hamas settle for his proposals as is.

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