No Peace: Israel Won't Leave Gaza, Says Defense Minister --- Stance is at odds with Washington's multiphase peace plan for the enclave

 

 

“TEL AVIV -- Israel's defense minister said the country would never leave Gaza and eventually would build Jewish settlements there, statements at odds with President Trump's plan for the enclave.

 

Defense Minister Israel Katz made the remarks at an event celebrating an agreement to build new housing units in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that included government and military officials. They came ahead of an expected meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump.

 

"We are deep inside Gaza, and we will never leave all of Gaza," Katz said, according to a recording of his speech shared by a spokesperson for Beit El, the Jewish settlement where the event took place.

 

The Israeli prime minister's office didn't respond to a question on whether Katz's comments reflected the government's official stance.

 

A White House official said the U.S. expects all parties to adhere to the commitments made under Trump's plan.

 

The Trump-brokered pact requires Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza as part of its final stages. Israel still controls roughly half of Gaza, while Hamas controls the rest. Hamas is required to disarm as part of the plan, but it has said it won't give up its weapons.

 

Katz said Israel would establish Jewish settlements in northern Gaza to replace settlements that were dismantled when Israel pulled its troops and civilians out of the enclave in 2005. He called for the establishment of garinei nahal, the Hebrew name of an Israeli military program that combines military service and joint settlement of communities by young people.

 

"God willing, when the time is right, we will also establish garinei nahal in north Gaza to replace the villages that were uprooted," Katz said.

 

Katz's office said the reference to settlements were "only made in the security context," and that "the government has no intent to establish settlements in the Gaza Strip."

 

The meeting between Netanyahu and Trump is expected to take place at the end of December, according to Netanyahu's office. The leaders are expected to discuss moving beyond the first phase of Trump's multiphase cease-fire plan, among other issues.” [1]

 

1. World News: Israel Won't Leave Gaza, Says Defense Minister --- Stance is at odds with Washington's multiphase peace plan for the enclave. Peled, Anat.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 24 Dec 2025: A7.