Mapping the 21 illegal settlements Israel had in Gaza 20 years ago

In September 2005, Israeli forces pulled retired of the Gaza Strip, with the past troops leaving done the al-Karara (Kisufim) and Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossings.

The withdrawal was seen astatine the clip arsenic a historical turning point, raising hopes that astir 4 decades of subject concern had travel to an end.

But alternatively of relinquishing control, Israel repositioned itself connected Gaza’s edges. It sealed disconnected the territory by land, sea, and air, restricting question done obstruction crossings, imposing limits connected sportfishing waters, and keeping ticker from above.

In this ocular explainer, Al Jazeera breaks down factors that led to then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan, maps the 21 amerciable settlements Israel dismantled crossed Gaza, and explores however their removal paved the mode for deeper colony enlargement crossed the occupied West Bank.

What led up to disengagement?

The thought of the Gaza disengagement was chiefly conceived and championed by Sharon.

A beardown protagonist of Israeli settlements, Sharon began considering a withdrawal from Gaza successful the aboriginal 2000s, peculiarly aft the outbreak of the 2nd Intifada (2000-05).

The thought was motivated by the precocious outgo of defending isolated settlements, the demographic challenges of ruling implicit a ample Palestinian population, and the strategical extremity of consolidating Israel’s clasp connected larger amerciable settlements successful the West Bank.

Despite facing aggravated absorption from wrong his Likud enactment and crossed the governmental spectrum, Sharon pushed guardant the plan, framing it arsenic a strategical determination alternatively than a concession.

The proposal, formally known successful Hebrew arsenic the “Hitnatkut” (Disengagement), was announced successful December 2003 and yet approved by the Knesset successful October 2004, paving the mode for the dismantling of 21 settlements successful Gaza and 4 successful the bluish West Bank successful 2005.

Timeline of Gaza disengagement

• June 6, 2004 – The Israeli furniture votes 14-7 successful favour of PM Sharon’s disengagement plan, mounting the signifier for withdrawal from Gaza.
• February 16, 2005 – The Knesset passes the Disengagement Implementation Law, providing the ineligible model for evacuations and compensation.
• August 15, 2005 – Israeli forces statesman dismantling settlements and removing settlers from Gaza.
• August 22, 2005 – All 21 settlements successful Gaza are emptied, removing astir 8,000 settlers.
• August 23-24, 2005 – Attention shifts to the bluish West Bank, wherever 4 settlements (al-Ghanim, Homesh, Kadim, Sanur) are dismantled.
• September 12, 2005 – Military jeeps and armoured bulldozers permission done the al-Karara and Beit Hanoon crossing points, ending 38 years of continuous Israeli subject beingness successful the Strip.

Where were the 21 amerciable settlements successful Gaza?

Following the Six-Day War successful 1967, erstwhile Israel occupied Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula, it intensified colony building.

Israeli settlements are Jewish-only communities built connected Palestinian land. Settlements are amerciable nether planetary instrumentality due to the fact that they impact transferring an occupying power’s civilian colonisation into occupied territory, which violates the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The archetypal colony successful Gaza aft 1967 was Kfar Darom, acceptable up arsenic a combined military-agricultural outpost successful 1970 and aboriginal converted into a civilian community. It became portion of Gush Katif, the largest Israeli colony successful the Gaza Strip, located successful confederate Gaza, wherever astir settlements were concentrated, peculiarly successful the Khan Younis and Rafah governorates.

A bulldozer demolishes houses connected August 30, 2005, successful the Kfar Darom colony successful the Gaza Strip [File: Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images]

Other settlements included Netzarim, conscionable southbound of Gaza City, and respective sites successful bluish Gaza. These settlements were heavy protected by the Israeli subject and surrounded by buffer zones that restricted Palestinian movement.

Over the adjacent 3 decades, a full of 21 settlements were built, lodging immoderate 8,000 settlers.

Although settlers made up conscionable 0.6 percent of Gaza’s population, they controlled astir 20 percent of its land, affecting astir 1.3 cardinal Palestinians surviving successful the territory astatine the time.

During Israel’s ongoing warfare connected Gaza, it built respective corridors named aft the settlements they connected, including Netzarim and Morag, 2 of the territory’s largest and astir salient settlements.

Settlement enlargement crossed the West Bank

Since Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza, colony enactment successful the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem has accelerated. Today, determination are betwixt 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli settlers surviving successful astatine slightest 250 settlements and outposts.

Many of these settlements person expanded portion caller outposts were acceptable up, often strategically located to power roads, precocious ground, and cardinal resources, efficaciously blocking Palestinians from accessing their onshore and limiting their state of movement.

One of Israel’s latest colony announcements came successful August 2025, erstwhile Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved the operation of astir 3,400 lodging units successful E1, betwixt East Jerusalem and the amerciable colony of Maale Adumim.

E1 is strategically significant, arsenic it forms 1 of the past geographic links betwixt Bethlehem and Ramallah, and enlargement determination could undermine plans for a territorially contiguous Palestinian state.