Symbolic imageNetanyahu rejects US Gaza roadmap as army pulls back to Yellow Line
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the US-backed 15-point Gaza roadmap in a Sunday cabinet meeting, ruling out any withdrawal before Hamas disarms.
Netanyahu insisted on 'genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament' and said no Palestinian state would arise in Gaza or the West Bank while he is prime minister. Talks with Washington on disarmament are continuing, he added. On Sunday evening Axios reported, citing a US official, that Netanyahu had told Jared Kushner last week he would give the plan a chance.
Washington plays down the rift
A senior US official told Axios the administration is 'not bothered', with 'no problem' as long as Israel does what Washington asks, especially on restraining attacks in Gaza. The US and the mediators are pressing Hamas to begin disarming.
Hamas points to the Cairo roadmap
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters the movement stays committed to the roadmap agreed in Cairo and expects mediators and the US to press Netanyahu's government to adhere to it.
Rhetoric and the ground
In practice Israel is implementing the framework, the Jerusalem Post argues: the army stopped targeted killings after a directive from Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir last week and is returning to the original Yellow Line, about 53 percent of the Strip.
Other opinions
The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Nikkei Asia headline a rupture with Washington, while Israeli reporting foregrounds the coordination continuing behind it.