Israel rejects 15-point peace plan for Gaza outlined by Donald Trump's Board of Peace

Israel has rejected Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, with President Benjamin Netanyahu demanding a "full disarmament" of Hamas will be required for his military to withdraw.

Mr Trump's Board of Peace said it had a 15-point plan last month, but Hamas handing over its heavy weapons was dependant on Israel ending "all forms of aggression" and withdrawing from Gaza.

"Israel rejects the 15-point document," Mr Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The Israeli military "will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens", he added.

The US President had said that "a monumental step toward lasting peace and security" when Hamas said it had accepted a disarmament plan for Gaza.

However, Mr Netanyahu said that Hamas would have to disarm before Israel withdrew its forces.

He added that it could not be some "fictitious disarmament".

The Israeli President said he was now in talks with the US about how to move forward.

"They have ideas; some of them are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand our ground on these matters," he said.

The Israeli president is unlikely to make concessions so close to the elections in the country.

He has faced calls from allies to hold a new cabinet vote and end the Gaza plan, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who labelled the draft "not acceptable".

The 15-point plan from Mr Trump would have seen the introduction of the board of Peace to oversea the agreement's implementation.

MORE FOLLOWS...