Israel ‘will never leave’ Gaza Strip, defense minister says

ISTANBUL

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz renewed his pledge on Thursday that Tel Aviv “will never leave” the Gaza Strip, vowing to create a broad security zone around the Palestinian enclave and allow settlement building in the territory’s north.

Speaking at an educational conference, Katz said Israel would maintain a permanent presence in Gaza and establish a wide security buffer around the enclave, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

Katz made similar remarks on Tuesday about plans for settlement building in northern Gaza, comments that Hebrew media said angered the administration of US President Donald Trump and prompted Katz to partially walk them back.

Israel launched a brutal war on Gaza in October 2023, with US backing, killing more than 71,000 Palestinians and wounding more than 171,000 others, most of them women and children.

A ceasefire based on a proposal advanced by Trump took effect on Oct. 10, but Israel has violated it daily, resulting in the death of 411 Palestinians.
Katz said it would be possible to establish Nahal outposts in northern Gaza “in an organized manner when the time comes.”

Nahal outposts are youth-based settlement frameworks overseen by the Israeli army’s Nahal Brigade that combine military service with settlement activity, according to Israeli media.

Rejecting reports that he had retracted his earlier comments, Katz said Israel would exercise “de facto sovereignty” in Gaza, similar to what he described as Israel’s policy in the occupied West Bank.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel has intensified actions aimed at annexing the occupied West Bank, including home demolitions, forced displacement and settlement expansion, according to Palestinian authorities.

Annexation of the West Bank would effectively end prospects for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as envisioned in UN resolutions.

About 750,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in hundreds of settlements across the occupied West Bank, including about 250,000 in occupied East Jerusalem.

Settlers carry out near-daily attacks against Palestinians in efforts to force them from their land, Palestinian officials say.

Katz said his vision since the start of the Gaza war has included establishing Nahal military sites in northern Gaza, along with religious schools and other facilities.

On the West Bank, Katz said Israel is implementing a policy of “practical sovereignty,” adding that current conditions do not allow for a formal declaration of annexation, including Palestinian displacement, troop deployment and settlement expansion.

Palestinian authorities have long urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt settlement activity in occupied territories, which the United Nations considers illegal.

On Tuesday, Katz told settler leaders that Nahal outposts would be established in northern Gaza on land where settlements evacuated in 2005 once stood. Those remarks contradicted Trump’s plan calling for a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.

Israeli media reported that Washington conveyed surprise and anger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over Katz’s comments. At the premier’s request, the defense minister later said the government was not seeking to establish settlements in Gaza, a statement widely seen as a retreat before he reiterated his position on Thursday.

Israeli media warned that Katz’s remarks could complicate Netanyahu’s planned visit to Florida, where he is expected to meet Trump on Dec. 29. The meeting is expected to focus on Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and Syria.

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir echoed Katz’s views.

“We have operated over the past two years across all arenas, and we are now in a vital transitional period and at a systemic turning point,” a military statement quoted Zamir as saying during an annual conference of the Intelligence Directorate.

“The mission has not yet ended; all arenas remain active,” he added.

Israel has occupied Palestinian territory and parts of Syria and Lebanon for decades and rejects withdrawal or the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on borders that predate the 1967 war.