By Steven Scheer and Tamar Uriel-Beeri
JERUSALEM, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Israel's defence minister denied any intention to resettle the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after earlier remarks that suggested Israel would one day want to do so, comments at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for the Palestinian enclave.
Defence Minister Israel Katz, speaking at a settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the military would never leave all of Gaza and planned to station a type of unit - Nahal - that has historically played a role in establishing Israeli communities, including settlements.
After some Israeli media reported the comment as a plan to resettle Gaza, where Israel dismantled settlements in 2005, Katz issued a statement saying "the government has no intention of establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip".
According to the U.S.-backed peace plan signed by both Israel and Hamas in October, the Israeli military will gradually withdraw completely from the coastal enclave and Israel will not re-establish civilian settlements there.
The plan nevertheless provides for an Israeli "security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat."
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said that Katz's announcement was "a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement" and "completely goes against" Trump's peace plan.
WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of re-establishing settlements in Gaza throughout the two-year Gaza war, although some ultra-nationalist members of his coalition seek to reoccupy Gaza.
Katz made his initial comments in the West Bank settlement of Beit El - near the Palestinian Authority's administrative headquarters of Ramallah - where he announced 1,200 housing units would be built.
"When the time comes, in northern Gaza ... we will establish Nahal (military) units instead of the (Israeli) communities that were displaced. We will do so in the right way at the right time," he said.
In his statement clarifying the remark, Katz said "the reference to the integration of Nahal ... in the northern Gaza Strip was made in a security context only."
NETANYAHU, TRUMP PLAN TO MEET NEXT WEEK
The comments point to complications facing Trump's Gaza plan, ahead of his meeting next week with Netanyahu at the White House.
Trump's plan secured a ceasefire in October and the release of the remaining living hostages seized in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led raids into southern Israel.
But there has been little sign of progress towards the other goals. Hamas has so far refused to disarm, as required by the plan, which also foresees the establishment of a transitional authority and the deployment of a multinational force.
Katz, in his comments at Beit El, said: "We are located deep inside Gaza and we will never leave all of Gaza. There will never be such a thing. We are there to protect, to prevent what happened."
"We don't trust anybody else to protect our citizens," he said, pointing to what he said was also a need to be also in Lebanon and Syria.
Israeli settlement building in the West Bank - part of the territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state - has accelerated under Netanyahu.
Palestinians and the international community for the most part consider the settlements to be illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
Speaking about the West Bank, Katz said: "Netanyahu's government is a settlements government... it strives for action. If we can get sovereignty, we will bring about sovereignty... We are in the practical sovereignty era," Katz said. "There are opportunities here that haven't been here for a long time."
Israel is heading into an election year in 2026 and settlers make up part of Katz and Netanyahu's Likud party voter base.
A Palestinian official condemned Katz's initial comments, calling them a dangerous escalation.
(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Writing by Maayan Lubell and Tom Perry; Editing by William Maclean)
