Katz vows Israel will build settlements in northern Gaza, later walks back comments |
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday pledged that Israel would “never leave” the Gaza Strip and would resettle the northern part of the enclave, in defiance of commitments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.
He later hastily walked back his remarks.
Speaking at a meeting marking the establishment of 1,200 new Jewish homes in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, Katz had pledged that Israel would resettle northern Gaza. That made him the most senior Israeli official to publicly support reconstructing the settlements Israel evacuated in 2005.
“With God’s help, when the time comes, also in northern Gaza, we will establish Nahal pioneer groups in place of the settlements that were evacuated,” he said. “We’ll do it in the right way, at the appropriate time.”
Katz was referring to the Nahal military unit that, in part, lets youths combine pioneering activities with military service. In the past, many of the outposts established by the unit went on to evolve into full-fledged settlements.
Katz’s statement contradicted Netanyahu, who has repeatedly vowed that Israel won’t resettle Gaza.
His assertions also contradicted US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza. The document says Israel will withdraw from the territory and explicitly states, “Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza.”
Hours later, Katz’s office released a statement saying that “the government has no intention of establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip,” and that the comments he made at the Beit El meeting were said “solely in a security context.”
Despite the clarification, the US condemned Katz, suggesting he was harming efforts to move forward on the Gaza peace plan.
“The more Israel provokes, the less the Arab countries want to work with them,” read a........