Israel ‘will never leave’ Gaza Strip, its war minister says
Israeli minister of military affairs Israel Katz has reiterated that the Tel Aviv regime “will never leave” Gaza, pledging to construct settlements in the northern part of the strip, in contravention of the ceasefire agreement.
On Thursday, Katz stressed that Israel wouldn’t withdraw from Gaza and would establish a wide buffer zone around the strip. That’s while Israel is required to withdraw completely from Gaza under US President Donald Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan.
Katz said it would be possible to establish Nahal outposts, youth-based settlement frameworks overseen by the Israeli military, in northern Gaza “in an organized manner when the time comes.”
He made similar remarks on Tuesday, triggering, what Hebrew media said, the anger of the Trump administration, and prompted Katz to say later the regime was not seeking to establish settlements in Gaza.
Katz on Thursday rejected reports that he had retreated, saying Israel would exercise “de facto sovereignty” in Gaza, similar to what he described as Israel’s policy in the occupied West Bank.
Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 70,000 Palestinians before the war came to an end last October with a fragile ceasefire agreement.
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir echoed Katz’s remarks, saying “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.”
“The mission has not yet ended; all arenas remain active,” he added.
On the occupied West Bank, Katz said Israel is implementing a policy of “practical sovereignty,” claiming that current circumstances do not allow for a formal declaration of annexation, including Palestinian displacement, troop deployment and settlement expansion.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared since the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza began in October 2023.
At least 1,102 Palestinians have since been killed in the West Bank, and nearly 11,000 others have been injured in attacks by the military and Israeli settlers in the occupied territory.
Around 21,000 people have also been abducted by the occupying regime’s forces.
For months, rights organizations have been warning that Palestinians in the West Bank face a growing threat of ethnic cleansing amid the continuing violence.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s prolonged occupation of historic Palestine was unlawful and called for the removal of all settlements currently in the West Bank and East al-Quds.
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