Settlements

"A large area of Gaza will be surrounded to protect settlements," Defense Minister Israel Katz said. "In my vision and in due time, Nahal nucleus groups will be established in the northern part."

"Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews," Sa'ar said.

Britain, Canada, Germany, and other nations condemn Israel's approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling it a violation of international law and a threat to stability.

"The more Israel provokes, the less the Arab countries want to work with them," US officials told The Jerusalem Post.

“There are opportunities here that have not existed for a very long time,” Israel's defense minister said, contradicting previous statements by PM Netanyahu.

The Nahala group said in a statement that "the Israeli flag was raised for the first time since the October 7 massacre in Gaza," and demanded that it must only be controlled by Israeli forces.

The move follows government approval on Wednesday for the construction of 764 housing units across three settlements in the West Bank.

Bluth failed in his duty and "in practice turned the IDF into an aid force for the establishment of illegal Jewish terror outposts" in the West Bank, Peace Now CEO Lior Amihai argued.

The units will be spread out between Hashmonaim, just over the Green Line in central Israel, and Givat Zeev and Beitar Illit near Jerusalem.

"These outposts have become forward positions from which raids are carried out on Palestinian villages," N12 quoted security officials as saying.