Is Israel really ready to withdraw from Gaza?
A disarmament agreement involving Hamas weapons handover and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza has triggered political backlash in Israel. Israeli officials and politicians, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have rejected the terms, with polls showing strong Israeli public support for hardline positions against Palestinians.
A recently announced disarmament agreement has created significant political tension in Israel. The accord stipulates that Hamas will surrender its weaponry in Gaza while Israel withdraws from the Palestinian enclave and gradually transfers administrative authority to a Palestinian administration. While US President Donald Trump has characterised the agreement positively, Israeli political leadership has responded with considerable scepticism.
An unnamed senior Israeli official stated that Israel would not withdraw from its current positions in Gaza until what the government determines to be the "genuine disarmament of Hamas" has occurred. This position reflects broader Israeli political sentiment shaped by the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed many Israelis and prompted a subsequent Israeli military campaign that has resulted in over 73,000 Palestinian deaths and widespread destruction across Gaza.
Public opinion data illustrates the hardline stance prevalent among Israeli voters. A May poll found that 82 percent of Jewish Israeli respondents supported forcible expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, while 56 percent supported expulsion of Palestinian citizens from within Israel itself. A subsequent poll conducted a month later indicated that 64 percent of respondents believed there were "no innocents" among Palestinians in Gaza. These attitudes have emboldened Israeli politicians to advocate for policies including the establishment of illegal Jewish settlements in Gaza, mirroring those in the occupied West Bank.
Political opposition to the disarmament agreement has been swift and vocal. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir denounced the accord as "unacceptable," arguing that halting targeted killings of Hamas leaders would enable future attacks. He called for continued assassinations and what he termed "encouragement of emigration"—language widely understood as referring to ethnic cleansing. Even centrist figures, such as Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and Netanyahu's anticipated electoral rival, expressed scepticism, contending that any agreement failing to achieve the complete destruction of Hamas's military and political structures would constitute failure.
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