The senior envoy of the Board of Peace plan for Gaza has said Israel will not be required to withdraw its forces until Palestinian groups surrender their weapons, a reversal of his earlier position.
Nikolay Mladenov told Israel's Channel 12 that any withdrawal would follow the verified decommissioning of weapons. He said nobody is required to do anything, least of all Israel, before verified steps on the ground.
The statement came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the board's 15-point roadmap. Netanyahu said Israel would retain the right to launch military attacks against what it considered imminent threats.
Mladenov said Turkey and Qatar would help verify compliance, although the US would control the process. He said he is not building the plan on trust and that everyone involved is clear-eyed about the risks.
According to reports, US President Donald Trump would be "very disappointed" if Israel does not agree to the plan, which was announced last week. The reports did not say how far the US would go to press Israel into accepting it.