From settlements to blocked recovery: Israeli strategy taking shape in Gaza

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has publicly stated his intention to establish military outposts combining agricultural and armed operations in northern Gaza, framing the move as a security measure. His remarks align with earlier statements that Israeli forces would maintain a permanent presence in the territory, contradicting a US-brokered agreement that stipulates full military withdrawal and prohibits settlement re-establishment.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also oversees settlement administration within the Defence Ministry, has indicated that preparatory work for establishing three settlements in northern Gaza has been completed. Both officials represent the ideological position of Israel's settler movement, which convened a conference in January 2024 attended by government ministers to advocate for settlement re-establishment in Gaza.

Former Israeli diplomat Alon Liel characterized the push as ideologically driven, noting the movement's goal of removing Palestinians from Gaza and establishing Israeli settlements similar to those in the West Bank. International law designates all settlements on Palestinian land as illegal, yet settlement expansion has remained a core objective of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which has overseen unprecedented expansion in recent years resulting in displacement of Palestinian communities and de facto land annexation in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian human rights defender Issam Younis, director of the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, interpreted the settlement strategy as part of a broader objective to render Gaza uninhabitable through infrastructure destruction, resource deprivation, and population expulsion. He characterized the conduct during the conflict and subsequent ceasefire arrangements as evidence that population displacement represents the Israeli government's primary objective.