JNS
“Since there are elements that tried to interpret my words as a declaration of the establishment of settlements in all of Gaza, I have clarified my words.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday clarified comments he made earlier this week about the establishment of Nahal groups in the Gaza Strip.
"In the northern part, it will be possible, according to my vision, and when the time comes, in an orderly manner, to establish Nahal core groups," Katz said on Thursday, speaking during a conference of the Hebrew newspaper Makor Rishon.
"Since there are elements that tried to interpret my words as a declaration of the establishment of settlements in all of Gaza, I have clarified my words and it is appropriate to clarify that there are political moves and other things here," he added.
On Tuesday, Katz announced that the government would establish Nahal groups in the northern Gaza Strip. Nahal is a program within the Israel Defense Forces that combines military service with educational and social welfare projects, often involving community building.
“This government is a government of settlement. It strives toward its goal. If sovereignty is possible, we will apply sovereignty. We are in a period of ‘practical sovereignty’ now,” he said on Tuesday.
His comments raised eyebrows among American forces headquartered in Israel as they appeared to contradict the U.S. administration’s plan for Gaza.
It also appeared to contradict earlier statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has publicly stated he does not support Jewish settlement of the Gaza Strip.
Outside of the clarification, the message Katz delivered on Thursday remained largely unchanged from the one delivered on Tuesday.
"The vision I have seen since the beginning of the war is that in the northern area, the model of the Nahal core groups, which are military, will be significant, and there can be yeshivahs and other things," he said on Thursday.
"Israel will never leave Gaza. There will be a significant security zone inside Gaza, even after we pass a stage where Hamas is dismantled and disarmed, that will encircle inside Gaza in controlled places to protect the settlements," he said.
Katz made his initial remarks at the signing ceremony for an agreement to evacuate the IDF Binyamin Brigade headquarters in Beit El and build 1,200 housing units on the site.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as an additional minister within the Defense Ministry with authority over civil affairs in Judea and Samaria, also attended the event. He called for securing Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, and said that “very soon,” we will “return to settle in the Gaza Strip, too.”
