{"id":1868,"date":"2026-07-04T08:54:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T08:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=1868"},"modified":"2026-07-04T08:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T08:54:24","slug":"could-israel-really-build-settlements-in-gaza-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=1868","title":{"rendered":"Could Israel really build settlements in Gaza? | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have offered the clearest signal yet that they are considering the establishment of new Jewish settlements on what remains of the Gaza Strip after almost three years of their country\u2019s genocidal war against Palestinians in the enclave.<\/p>\n

Last Monday, Smotrich, who made his continued participation in the ruling coalition conditional<\/a> on being granted increased control over Israel\u2019s settlement enterprise, told reporters that his ministry had prepared plans for three settlements in northern Gaza, and that all that was needed to move forward was the green light from Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

The following day, Netanyahu came close to providing it. Speaking on Israel\u2019s staunchly right-wing Channel 14, he refused to rule out the prospect of settlements in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is whether you prefer to do or to talk,\u201d the prime minister replied cryptically when asked whether the establishment of settlements was a possibility. \u201cAnd yes, I prefer not to address it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s current settlements \u2013 in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem \u2013 are illegal under international law.<\/p>\n

In clearing the way for any future settlements in Gaza \u2013 and for what Netanyahu euphemistically told Channel 14 viewers was the \u201cvoluntary migration\u201d of its remaining population, a process widely characterised by international jurists as ethnic cleansing \u2013 Israel has killed more than 73,000 of its occupants.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Israel has been accused by United Nations-backed experts of deliberately imposing a famine<\/a> on survivors in Gaza and, most recently, of furthering<\/a> its genocide in Gaza through the deliberate targeting of children.<\/p>\n

The degree to which preparations are under way for the physical establishment of any settlements in Gaza \u2013 which previously had 21 illegal settlements<\/a> before the Israeli government decided to dismantle them in 2005 \u2013 is difficult to ascertain. The area north of Gaza City<\/a> has been largely razed by Israel, with its deliberate campaign to demolish Palestinian homes and institutions, destroying almost everything not hit with bombs from the air.<\/p>\n

Supporters of settlements in Gaza see that now empty land as a perfect opportunity to cement a buffer between Israel and Gaza.<\/p>\n

With elections due in Israel, it is beneficial for politicians such as Smotrich and Netanyahu to insinuate that this is now the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Israeli public has been subjected to almost endless incitements to genocide since October 7,\u201d said Neve Gordon, an Israeli professor at Queen Mary University of London. \u201cPeople who watch legacy media in Israel have no understanding of the level of destruction in Gaza, or the kind of suffering that has gone on there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are even spots, tourist spots, where some people in Israel go to watch the bombing. This is the constituency that statements like Smotrich\u2019s are designed to appeal to. These are the people who would like to see more settlements in Gaza, but that doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t take it seriously \u201d he said. \u201c[But] this isn\u2019t just rhetoric. There is a definite and consistent push from across much of Israel\u2019s politics to resettle the Gaza Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n

A history of ethnic cleansing<\/h2>\n

A growing number of hardline religious Israelis have been seeking to resettle the Gaza Strip since the 2005 disengagement. Since then, analysts and historians have described concerted efforts by those supporting settlements to capture the institutions of Israeli public life, gaining dominant voices in the education system, the media and other areas of government.<\/p>\n

\"KIBBUTZ
Right-wing Nachala movement settlers march near the border, advocating for the resettlement of the Gaza Strip [File: Erik Marmor\/Getty Images]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Organisations such as the far-right settler group Nachala have openly championed the resettlement of the enclave. Months into Israel\u2019s genocidal war, Nachala held a conference<\/a> explicitly promoting Israel\u2019s return to Gaza, entitled \u201dSettlement Brings Security and Victory\u201d. It was attended by numerous government ministers, including Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.<\/p>\n

Despite what critics describe as his success in establishing settlements on a scale unparalleled since the 1990s, Smotrich continues to struggle in the polls. His Religious Zionist party may not secure enough votes in the next election \u2013 which must be before the end of October \u2013 to meet the minimum threshold to get into parliament. That perhaps explains why Smotrich is eager to inflate the prospects of settlements in Gaza and attract more support from the Israeli right-wing.<\/p>\n

Political advantage<\/h2>\n

The irony is curious for observers such as Orly Noy, the editor of the Hebrew-language Local Call magazine.<\/p>\n

Smotrich \u201chas been the most effective member of the cabinet in promoting the interests of the settlers in the West Bank\u201d, she said. \u201cHe has really made a revolution in that sense,\u201d referring to the judicial, economic, and infrastructure overhauls initiated under Smotrich\u2019s watch, that he appears to be receiving little credit for among his base.<\/p>\n

The stakes for Netanyahu are potentially more dramatic, analysts pointed out. Currently on trial<\/a> on multiple corruption charges, the PM faces a jail sentence if found guilty.<\/p>\n

Similarly, anger over his apparent determination not to hold an independent<\/a> inquiry into his own government\u2019s failings in the October 7 attack runs high, perhaps giving him a reason to suggest that he will move forward with building settlements and expelling Palestinians from Gaza.<\/p>\n

\"Israeli
Israeli Knesset member and the only Jewish politician expected to resist potential settlement in Gaza, Ofer Cassif [File: Ahmad Gharabli\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLook, if you want to distinguish yourself from the rest of the field ahead of the election, your time is now,\u201d political analyst Ori Goldberg said. \u201cThis is your moment, and, if you want to propose imposing further hardship onto Palestinians, there is absolutely no Jewish member of [parliament] \u2013 apart from the [left-wing member of parliament] Ofer Cassif \u2013 who is going to oppose you.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t care anymore,\u201d he said of the chances of the settlement of Gaza receiving any resistance from Israelis. \u201cThere\u2019s just nothing [on the suffering in Gaza]. People have grown indifferent. There\u2019s just a big black hole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Complicity<\/h2>\n

While the Israeli government may have no domestic qualms when it comes to building settlements in Gaza, it does have to contend with the international backlash \u2013 and that may be why the project does not move beyond the planning stage.<\/p>\n

But would Israel face any real lasting consequences from building settlements in Gaza?<\/p>\n

In the eyes of many, the Israeli government\u2019s freedom to act comes from the unwavering diplomatic and military support of the US, as well as the financial support of Europe which, despite its occasional criticism, remains Israel\u2019s foremost trading<\/a> partner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of international reaction,\u201d author and fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Hugh Lovatt said of the prospect of settlement in Gaza, \u201cfrom 2023 onwards we\u2019ve seen the greatest expansion of settlements since the [1990s] Oslo Accords, as well as plans to render the two-state solution obsolete\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, while there\u2019s been some criticism, there\u2019s been very little action,\u201d Lovatt said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that would be any different were it to happen in Gaza. It\u2019s true that Gaza has been the focus of a great deal of international \u2013 and specifically US \u2013 attention since the ceasefire that the West Bank has not.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, whether that attention would act as a check on Israel\u2019s attempts to expand its settlements is unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould Israel risk such a blatant move to block Trump\u2019s Gaza plan? I\u2019m not sure,\u201d he said of the US president\u2019s plan for Gaza, which while heavily criticised<\/a> for allowing Israel to continue its presence in the Palestinian territory, makes no mention of Israeli settlements.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd while Europe has a very poor track record so far, an expansion of Israeli settlements to Gaza could push European states to act,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have offered the clearest signal yet that they are considering the establishment of new Jewish settlements on what remains of the Gaza Strip after almost three years of their country\u2019s genocidal war against Palestinians in the enclave. Last Monday, Smotrich, who made his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1868","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-international-news"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}