Israel will never withdraw from Gaza, says Defense Minister. Colonization intentions in the north of the Strip
Israeli Merkava tanks, stationed along the border with the Gaza Strip, as Israel launched a new large-scale bombing campaign on Gaza City, September 16, 2025. PHOTO: Eddie Gerald / Alamy / Profimedia
Israel will never withdraw all its troops from the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Israel Katz declared, during a conference organized by the Makor Rishon newspaper on Thursday, reports DPA, taken over by Agerpres.
“In Gaza, Israel will never fully withdraw. There will be an imported security zone in the Gaza Strip,” Katz said during the conference.
This will remain true even in the case of a transition to the second phase of US President Donald Trump's peace plan and the disarmament of Hamas, Katz said.
The security zone will be inside the Gaza Strip, Katz said, adding that Israeli settlements could be created in the northern part of the coastal strip that would protect the security zone.
Joint appeal of 14 countries to Israel to stop the establishment of settlements in the West Bank. “Clear opposition to any form of annexation”
The statements of Katz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, thus once again contradict elements of Trump's peace plan, which provides for a gradual withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
