JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH - Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Israel would never fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip or from Syria, and vowed to establish new settlements in Gaza.

Speaking at a public ceremony in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, Katz said Israel would establish in northern Gaza Nahal settlement groups, military-backed settlement nuclei from which larger civilian settlements are developed. He said the move would take place "in the right way, at the right time," without specifying a date.

Katz said the new settlements would be built "in place of" settlements evacuated as part of Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the coastal enclave, known as the disengagement plan.

"We are deep inside Gaza and will never leave all of Gaza -- there will be no such thing," Katz said.

Despite a ceasefire that took effect on Oct 10, Israel has continued near-daily attacks in Gaza and the demolition of buildings in areas where its troops remain deployed.

Speaking of Israeli plans in Syria, Katz dismissed US-brokered diplomatic efforts to reach an arrangement between Israel and Syria. "We don't trust anyone ... no agreement," he said. "We will not withdraw even by a millimeter in Syria."

Israel moved into the buffer zone in southwestern Syria in December 2024 and later took control of the peak of Mount Hermon.

Also on Tuesday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that Israel's decision to establish 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank is a "dangerous step" aimed at tightening control over Palestinian territory, 

The move extends "the policies of apartheid," undermines the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and destroys "any real prospect of stability," the ministry said in a statement on social media. It added that the decision was part of Israel's efforts to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.

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On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a pro-settler politician, said Israel's security cabinet had approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, bringing the number of settlements legalised or approved over the past three years to 69.

Smotrich said the decision was part of a broader push to strengthen Jewish settlements across the West Bank and to prevent "the de facto establishment" of a Palestinian state.

Israel has accelerated settlement approvals since the formation of its current right-wing government, which includes parties that oppose Palestinian statehood and support expanding Israeli control over the territory. The approvals have drawn increased international criticism. Most countries regard Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier this month that such moves continue "to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land and threaten the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State."

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and has occupied the territories since.