Earlier this week, Katz spoke about establishing illegal settlements in Gaza, about 20 years after Israel withdrew from the devastated territory.
GAZA CITY — Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military will never withdraw from the war-torn Gaza Strip, confirming earlier comments about settlement construction despite Trump’s ceasefire agreement signed in October.
“In Gaza, Israel will never fully withdraw – there will be a significant security area inside the Strip, even after we move to stage two [of Trump’s 20-point peace plan] if Hamas disarms,” Katz said during a conference hosted by the Makor Rishon newspaper, the Times of Israel reported.
Earlier this week, Katz spoke about establishing illegal settlements in Gaza, about 20 years after Israel withdrew from the devastated territory.
“We are located deep inside Gaza, and we will never leave all of Gaza,” Katz said. “We are there to protect.”
“In due course, we will establish Nahal [an Israeli infantry brigade] outposts in northern Gaza in place of the settlements that were uprooted,” Katz added, according to Israeli media.
The ceasefire agreement calls for a full Israeli military withdrawal and rules out the re-establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the territory.
Hours later, he issued a statement in English to the Reuters news agency, saying Nahal units would be stationed in Gaza “only for security reasons”. The Israeli media reported that US officials were displeased with Katz’s initial comments and demanded clarification.
Nahal units are military formations that combine civilian service with army enlistment and have historically played a role in the creation of Israeli settler communities.
Katz was speaking at a ceremony in the occupied West Bank marking the approval of 1,200 housing units in the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El.
Addressing settlement expansion in the West Bank, Katz said: “Netanyahu’s government is a settlements government … it strives for action. If we can get sovereignty, we will bring about sovereignty. We are in the practical sovereignty era.”
“There are opportunities here that haven’t been here for a long time,” he added.
Far-right and ultranationalist members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition have repeatedly said they intend to reoccupy Gaza and expand illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal. The transfer of an occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory is considered a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Meanwhile in Gaza, Israel continues to violate the fragile ceasefire, killing civilians and blocking much-needed aid.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that since a ceasefire began on October 11, at least 406 Palestinians have been killed and 1,118 injured. Since the start of Israel’s genocide in October 7, 2023, the Ministry said, 70,942 Palestinians have been killed and 171,195 wounded.
According to Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, “Israeli forces continue to shoot residents and target Internally displaced people compounds on either side of the “yellow line”, which left 58% of Gaza in Israeli control under the deal yet was never clearly marked. Nearly 1 million people who lived east of the line before the genocide are now crowded west of it in unlivable conditions.” — QNN
