Israel Faces Pressure to Clarify Gaza Withdrawal After Disarmament Deal
Israel has yet to say whether it will pull back from Gaza after Hamas agreed to hand over its weapons in a disarmament deal announced. Israel Faces Pressure —…
Israel has yet to say whether it will pull back from Gaza after Hamas agreed to hand over its weapons in a disarmament deal announced Thursday. But the first signals from Jerusalem were cold, and senior Israeli officials are drawing a hard line: no withdrawal before what they call the genuine disarmament of Hamas.
The agreement, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s triumphant push, also calls for Israel to withdraw from the enclave and gradually hand power to a Palestinian administration. That prospect has landed badly in Israel, where politicians and much of the press have reacted with visible skepticism.
Washington hails progress, Israel holds back
Trump said Israel was “very happy” with the deal. Yet a senior Israeli official told reporters on Friday that despite “various publications” describing diplomatic progress in Gaza, Israeli forces would stay put until Hamas is fully disarmed.
The gap between the public mood in Washington and the mood in Israel is stark. One side is talking about implementation. The other is talking about conditions, verification and delay.
That tension matters well beyond Gaza. Any Israeli withdrawal would reshape the balance of power inside the enclave and test whether a Palestinian administration can actually take over ground that has been devastated by war.
Israeli politics remain a major obstacle
The Israeli government has not issued an official response. But the response in the Israeli press and among politicians has been chilly, reflecting a hard line that has deepened since the October 7 attacks. Many Israelis still favor that approach, according to the source material.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also navigating a fragile political landscape at home. He faces ongoing corruption charges and a general election later this year that could remove him from office. That makes any concession on Gaza politically risky.
For Trump, the Gaza deal comes as his administration is already managing wider regional ties, including a longstanding U.S.-Israel defense partnership. Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed the annual defense bill with a provision expanding U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation, underscoring how closely the two countries’ security ties remain linked even as political pressure builds.
For now, the key question is not whether a deal exists on paper. It does. The question is whether Israel will move from its current positions inside Gaza before it decides Hamas has truly laid down its weapons. That answer has not come yet.
