Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that the Israeli military will occupy Gaza like it does the West Bank even after the genocidal war in the Strip comes to an end.
“After we defeat Hamas’ military and governmental power in Gaza, Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action, just as it did in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank),” Katz wrote on X.
Katz’s comments come amid reports that Israel and Hamas are close to a hostage deal that would involve a temporary ceasefire. However, on Tuesday, Israeli officials told Axios that significant gaps remain and an agreement is not imminent despite optimistic statements.
Hamas reportedly conceded not to seek an Israeli military withdrawal as part of the deal, but Hamas officials are saying their proposal involved a gradual end to the Israeli military presence, meaning Katz’s comments could sabotage negotiations.
According to Middle East Eye, Israeli media reported that Israel plans to keep troops in place in Gaza to prevent displaced Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, where the IDF has been carrying out an ethnic cleansing plan known as the “General’s Plan.”
Israeli ministers and Knesset members have not been shy about their desire to establish Jewish settlements in northern Gaza, and settler leaders have already gone to scout locations.
Haaretz reported on Tuesday that Israel and Saudi Arabia reached a breakthrough in normalization talks that could lead to a Gaza hostage deal, but it was swiftly denied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The report said Israel agreed to make some vague commitment toward a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu said was “absolutely false.”
“Netanyahu has acted, and is acting, against the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger the security of Israel,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.