Symbolic imageNetanyahu holds out against US-backed Gaza roadmap
Netanyahu is sticking to his rejection of the US-backed 15-point Gaza roadmap, announced on Sunday, and rules out any withdrawal before Hamas disarms. Washington says the process continues.
He is squeezed between far-right coalition partners, who want intensified attacks and settlements in Gaza, and Trump, who wants Israel's wars ended, with an election due in just over two months. His cabinet statement on Sunday, 9 August, also ruled out a Palestinian state while he is prime minister. Channel 12 reported that Israeli commanders were blindsided: a defence official said he had earlier agreed to the plan and to a pullback from points in Rafah.
Trump plays down the rift
Asked at the White House on Monday, Trump called his relationship with Netanyahu 'very good'; Channel 12 quoted a US official as saying Washington was 'not bothered', as long as Israel restrains its strikes.
Envoy defends the roadmap
Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov told Channel 12 the plan is the only guarantee against a repeat of the 7 October 2023 attack, with Israeli pullbacks only after verified sector-by-sector disarmament.
Talks on all fronts
Chief of staff Eyal Zamir told a meeting attended by CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper that negotiations run on all main fronts; Israeli media reported Cooper had pressed for an end to the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Other opinions
Global Times casts the rejection as a widening US-Israeli rift; TASS reported only the army's statement on talks.