Israeli Defense Minister Gallant’s Gaza Settlement Plan Draws Hamas Condemnation

Hamas said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s announcement to establish three settlement outposts in the northern Gaza Strip ignores international law and United Nations resolutions. In a press statement, the Palestinian movement described the proposal as part of an ongoing policy of ethnic cleansing and accused Gallant’s government of pre‑meditated genocide.

Hamas urged the International Criminal Court and other tribunals to issue arrest warrants for Gallant and other Israeli officials, and called on mediators of the cease‑fire, including the United States, to act against the settlement drive. Gallant announced the plan during a field tour of northern Gaza with senior army commanders, saying the settlements would strengthen military control and protect nearby Israeli communities. The move was reiterated as being widely rejected by the UN and most countries, which consider Israeli settlements in occupied territories a violation of international law.