Rebuilding Gush Katif Is Not Revenge. It’s Strategy
I was glad to hear that the Israeli Government and Samaria Regional Council decided to reestablish the community of Sa-Nur, which was evacuated as part of the 2005 disengagement plan. This is an important and correct decision.
What I am about to write will surprise many, but I support the rebuilding of all the communities of Gush Katif.
The concept born in Oslo — the idea that the ethnic cleansing of Jews from their homes would bring peace — collapsed long ago. The massacre of October 7 was the final nail in the coffin of the separation paradigm. Its inevitable conclusion must be the rebuilding of the Jewish communities that were destroyed, some of which were built on privately purchased land acquired even before the establishment of the State of Israel.
As I have written before, it is time to disengage from the ideology of separation and to remove all the fences between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Separation has never brought peace. Shared life does.
The “October 7 government” offers no strategy for the day after. Netanyahu’s government continues to flounder in Gaza, deliberately avoiding any meaningful progress toward a next phase, because Netanyahu understands that implementing a real agreement would return us to exactly where we were before October 7 — without vision, without direction, and without strategy.
The alternative is simple: a peace plan based on shared life.
A Palestinian autonomy that could, in time and under the right conditions, evolve into a demilitarized state. The plan would include rebuilding the communities of Gush Katif and northern Samaria alongside the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip. The “day after” must allow freedom of movement for Israelis and Palestinians throughout the space between the river and the sea.
Jews living in rebuilt Gush Katif communities would benefit from proximity to rehabilitated Palestinian urban centers, while Palestinians would once again build economic, commercial, and employment ties with their Jewish neighbors.
All of this must take place alongside an uncompromising war on terrorism, a complete halt to incitement in education and media systems, and the restoration of full governance and rule of law.
But none of this can happen unless the State of Israel forcefully condemns and acts against the ongoing provocations and violence carried out by extremist fringes of Jewish society in Judea and Samaria. Calling them “bad apples” is not enough. Anyone who takes the law into their own hands must face firm and unequivocal consequences, without political backing or excuses.
Our moral compass must be clear. The State of Israel must be a beacon of morality, especially when we rule over millions of people who do not enjoy sovereignty. This is true regarding Palestinians in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza — and it is even more true when it comes to Arab citizens of Israel, many of whom identify as Palestinian.
What future awaits us if we choose to ignore their existence?
Anyone living in the south, the north, or the Triangle knows the truth: we are sitting on a volcano. Parallel societies, rampant crime, and a lack of governance are a recipe for disaster. A state in which the identity of more than one-fifth of its citizens is treated as a curse will not survive over time.
Fanatical, populist, and dangerously shallow discourse may perform well on TikTok, but it leads us toward national ruin.
Israel needs value-driven leaders who can look far ahead and are not afraid to confront the core questions. Leaders who speak the language of hope, responsibility, and vision.
Precisely now, while we are still bleeding, is the moment to demand strategy. It is easy to surrender to daily challenges and hope that the deeper problems will somehow solve themselves — but reality has already proven otherwise.
The first step must be clear: rebuilding the communities that were destroyed, alongside the rehabilitation of Gaza. At the same time, an uncompromising fight against terrorism and lawlessness from all sides.
And then — we must return to living together.
After years of shared life, without borders and without incitement, it may become possible to agree on a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel — not out of weakness, but out of confidence.
But the first step must be taken now.
The State of Israel cannot continue to operate without a strategy.
