Israel allows Board of Peace to begin Gaza reconstruction despite failure to disarm Hamas – report

Israel’s prime minister and defense minister reportedly okayed US-backed initiative to begin rebuilding the Gaza Strip even before Hamas accepts disarmament plan.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have authorized infrastructure work for a new Palestinian residential area in the Israeli-controlled portion of southern Gaza, according to Israeli media reports, moving ahead with a form of reconstruction even though Hamas has yet to disarm.

Israel’s army radio station, Galei Tzahal, reported Sunday that Netanyahu and Katz approved the work roughly two weeks ago without publicly announcing the decision. The project is planned for eastern Rafah, on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line separating IDF-held territory from the densely populated coastal areas where Hamas retains influence.

The development is politically sensitive because Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that rebuilding Gaza must follow its demilitarization rather than precede it.

In January, Netanyahu rejected suggestions that reconstruction could start while Hamas remained armed, declaring: “That will not happen.”

The Prime Minister’s Office disputed the report’s characterization of the latest move, saying the report “distorts the facts and recycles old information.” It said the project is an existing United Arab Emirates-backed pilot program for temporary Palestinian housing that has already been underway for several months.

According to Netanyahu’s office, the site has already been cleared of Hamas military infrastructure.

“As of now, the area has been cleared of terror infrastructure and tunnels,” the office said.

The distinction appears central to the government’s justification for allowing work to proceed: rather than rebuilding territory still governed by Hamas, the project would establish housing for Palestinians in an area controlled by the IDF and described by officials as outside Hamas rule.

The report referred to the proposed zone as “Green Rafah.”

The site is currently empty and lies east of the main population centers in Rafah, according to i24NEWS, which said infrastructure work would prepare the area for eventual residential construction.

The work is expected to include groundwork and preparations involving electricity, water and sewage systems.

Galei Tzahal reported that Palestinian contractors and laborers from Gaza were undergoing Shin Bet security screening ahead of their possible employment at the site.

The Prime Minister’s Office, however, denied that Gazan workers would be responsible for critical electricity, water or sewage infrastructure, saying those elements would remain under IDF supervision.

The political leadership has also stopped short of approving the installation of the mobile homes or other temporary residences themselves, according to i24NEWS. That stage is reportedly not expected to receive authorization before November, after Israel’s October 27 election. For now, the approval concerns preparing the site and its infrastructure.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev defended the move, arguing that Netanyahu’s position does not prohibit reconstruction everywhere in Gaza while Hamas remains armed, but rather permits rebuilding in individual areas from which the terror group has been removed.

“We want Gaza to recover,” Regev told Galei Tzahal.

She said the reconstruction process could begin in areas that had already been demilitarized.

That interpretation would allow Israel to pursue reconstruction on an area-by-area basis rather than wait for Hamas to surrender all of its weapons across the Gaza Strip.

It also bears similarities to the phased approach envisioned in President Donald Trump’s latest Board of Peace roadmap, despite Netanyahu publicly rejecting that document on Sunday.

The 15-point roadmap calls for Gaza to be gradually transferred to the Palestinian technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG, as Hamas relinquishes governmental authority and weapons are decommissioned under international verification. Israeli troops would withdraw in stages as those obligations are completed.

Reconstruction would then proceed under a plan supervised by the Board of Peace and the NCAG. The document explicitly connects Hamas’s disarmament, Israeli withdrawals, new Palestinian governance and reconstruction as parts of a sequential process rather than requiring every stage to be completed across the entire Strip simultaneously.

Netanyahu nevertheless told ministers Sunday that Israel rejects the current formulation.

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said, while insisting that the IDF would not withdraw until Hamas had surrendered its weapons.

The disagreement between Israel and the US-backed framework has centered heavily on sequencing. Netanyahu says Hamas must be fully disarmed before further Israeli withdrawals, while the Board of Peace proposes verified, sector-by-sector disarmament tied to corresponding withdrawals.

The Rafah project could offer a smaller-scale example of how reconstruction might work under an area-by-area model: Israel clears and secures territory, prevents Hamas from operating there and then allows civilian infrastructure to return while the wider dispute remains unresolved.

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman accused Netanyahu of violating his own promises and rebuilding Gaza while Hamas remains intact.

Liberman argued that proceeding before Hamas is fully dismantled risks repeating the pre-October 7 assumption that improving conditions in Gaza could produce lasting stability. He described the policy as a return to the failed “conception” that preceded Hamas’s 2023 assault.

Right-wing activist organizations also criticized the project, warning that an area currently free of Hamas could again fall under its control if the IDF eventually withdraws.

The Israel Envelope Forum and Tzav 9 argued that complete demilitarization should precede reconstruction.

The debate comes as Israel retains control over most of Gaza’s territory.

Reuters reported in late July that Israel effectively controlled around 64% of the Strip by late April and had subsequently moved the Yellow Line farther into Gaza in several locations.

Netanyahu said in May that Israel intended to expand its controlled zone to approximately 70% of Gaza.

Nearly all of Gaza’s roughly two million residents are concentrated outside the Israeli-controlled area.

The Trump plan ultimately calls for the IDF to withdraw from Gaza, for Hamas and other armed groups to lose independent control of weapons, for an International Stabilization Force to deploy and for Palestinian technocrats to take over civilian administration.

The decision to begin preparing eastern Rafah therefore carries significance beyond the relatively limited construction currently approved.