Israeli leaders signal Gaza settlement plans as election pressure builds

Israel’s far-right finance minister says his office has drawn up plans for three settlements in northern Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declined to rule out the idea. Al Jazeera reported that the remarks mark the clearest public signal yet from senior Israeli leaders that they are weighing a return of Jewish settlements to the enclave after years of war.

Bezalel Smotrich told reporters last Monday that the plans were ready and needed Netanyahu’s approval to proceed, according to Al Jazeera. A day later, Netanyahu was asked on Israel’s right-wing Channel 14 whether settlements in Gaza were possible and answered that he preferred action over discussion, while avoiding a direct denial.

Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem are illegal under international law. Gaza previously had 21 Israeli settlements before the government dismantled them in 2005, Al Jazeera reported.

Plans amid destruction in northern Gaza

Al Jazeera reported that it remains unclear how far any physical preparations for Gaza settlements have advanced. The area north of Gaza City has been heavily destroyed during Israel’s war, with Palestinian homes and institutions demolished or bombed, according to the network.

Al Jazeera said supporters of renewed settlement see the cleared land in northern Gaza as a way to create a buffer between Israel and the rest of the enclave. The network reported that Israel has killed more than 73,000 people in Gaza, and that United Nations-backed experts have accused Israel of deliberately imposing famine and targeting children as part of a genocide. Israel has rejected genocide accusations in other international forums.

Netanyahu has also promoted what he described on Channel 14 as the “voluntary migration” of Gaza’s remaining population, Al Jazeera reported. The network said international jurists widely characterize such a policy as ethnic cleansing.

Domestic politics shape the message

Neve Gordon, an Israeli professor at Queen Mary University of London, told Al Jazeera that the idea of resettling Gaza has support across parts of Israeli politics and should not be dismissed as campaign talk. He said statements like Smotrich’s appeal to Israelis who back more settlements and have limited exposure through Israeli media to the destruction in Gaza.

Far-right groups have pushed for a return to Gaza since the 2005 withdrawal. Al Jazeera cited the Nachala settler movement, which organized a conference during the war under the slogan “Settlement Brings Security and Victory”; Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir were among the government ministers who attended.

Smotrich’s Religious Zionist party may struggle to cross the electoral threshold in the next election, which must be held before the end of October, Al Jazeera reported. Orly Noy, editor of the Hebrew-language Local Call magazine, told the network that Smotrich has been highly effective in advancing settler interests in the West Bank, even if he has not been rewarded for it politically.

Netanyahu also faces political pressure, Al Jazeera reported, including a corruption trial and public anger over his handling of demands for an independent inquiry into the October 7 attack. Political analyst Ori Goldberg told the network that few Jewish members of Israel’s parliament would oppose harsher measures against Palestinians, naming left-wing lawmaker Ofer Cassif as an exception.

International response remains uncertain

Hugh Lovatt, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera that Israel has faced limited consequences for rapid settlement expansion since 2023. He said Gaza has received more international attention than the West Bank, but it is unclear whether that would restrain Israel.

Lovatt said a move to build settlements in Gaza could test Washington’s plans for the territory and might push European states to act. Al Jazeera reported that Europe remains Israel’s leading trading partner despite criticism of its conduct in Gaza.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.