Israel’s defense chief lays out ‘Plan B’ for Gaza, rejects US ‘pathway’ to Palestinian state

“Israel’s policy is clear: No Palestinian state will be established,” said Katz.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s defense chief on Sunday laid out IDF policy on the country’s northern and southern fronts, amid US efforts to secure peace deals in two key hotspots.

In a post to his X account Sunday morning, Defense Minister Israel Katz (Likud) responded to US-backed diplomatic initiatives touching on Israel’s presence in the Gaza Strip and parts of the Golan Heights, as well as the future of Judea and Samaria.

“Israel’s policy is clear: No Palestinian state will be established,” Katz wrote, responding to criticism from some right-wing ministers over the American draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council set to go up for a vote on Monday.

The U.S. measure includes support for a “pathway” to Palestinian statehood.

The draft resolution would, if passed, provide an international mandate for the International Stabilization Force (ISF) the US hopes to form to implement stage two of its Gaza plan.

The ISF would include soldiers from multiple Arab and Muslim-majority states, and would be tasked with enforcing the ceasefire, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, and helping to establish a new administrative body to govern the Strip.

Hamas’ refusal thus far to disarm, and hesitancy among possible donor nations to put their soldiers in a position where they may be required to confront Hamas militarily, has raised questions about the viability of the US plan.

Against this backdrop, some reports have cited officials claiming the US is looking to move forward with parts of the Gaza plan, even without Hamas being disarmed.

Israel, Katz said, would ensure Hamas is fully disarmed and will use military force if the IDF fails to act.

“Gaza will be demilitarized down to the last tunnel, and Hamas will be disarmed — on the Yellow Side by the IDF, and in Old Gaza by the international force, or by the IDF.”

Furthermore, Katz appeared to rule out a full IDF withdrawal from the 1974 demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights, insisting that Israel retain security control over the summit of Mount Hermon and other parts of the buffer zone seized last December.

“The IDF will remain on Mount Hermon and in the Security Zone,” Katz wrote.

Syria’s new government has demanded that Israel withdraw from the entire 1974 disengagement zone, which IDF forces occupied after the collapse of the Assad regime.

The US has sought to broker a security deal between Damascus and Jerusalem, amid ongoing disagreements both over Syria’s demand for an IDF pullout and pressure from Israel on Syria to establish a new, broader buffer zone.