'Gaza peace plan is still operative'

WASHINGTON:

US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan is still operative and discussions with Israel are continuing, a Board of Peace official said on Monday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected an Israeli withdrawal until the Palestinian militant group Hamas is "genuinely disarmed."

Netanyahu on Sunday restated his rejection of the Gaza plan in televised remarks to his right-wing government. The move came even as Israel's military has effectively halted attacks in the territory under U.S. pressure.

"The plan is very much still operative and advancing," the official told Reuters.

"The process is based on implementation and verification on the ground. Discussions with Israel are continuing, and the framework is designed so that each stage only moves forward once the required commitments have been met," the official said.

Trump announced last month that there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, to which both Israel and Hamas agreed, with Israeli forces withdrawing as Hamas disarms and an International Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police force to secure the enclave.