International diplomacy often assumes Israel might free Gaza once enough security conditions are satisfied. But decades of illegal occupation show the opposite. Israeli state policy weakened Palestinians, divided their land, and obstructed sovereignty while presenting every new restriction as temporary.
The latest and most heinous formula follows the history. Palestinians must disarm first, and then Israel may withdraw later. In reality, “later” means whenever Israel chooses. In fact, it is the architecture of permanent occupation.
Disarmament Means Palestinian Defenselessness
The US-led Board of Peace proposed a 15-point roadmap under which Palestinian groups would disarm in phases as Israeli forces withdrew. Hamas endorsed the proposed framework. However, Netanyahu rejected it clearly, declaring that Israel would not leave until Hamas was “genuinely disarmed”.
“Disarmament first” leaves Israel in command of the timetable. It can decide almost everything, including whether to accept disarmament. No fixed deadline compels its army to leave.
Palestinians will try to bring peace even through their remaining means of resistance while Israel retains its aircraft, artillery, surveillance, and control of Gaza’s borders. That is not mutual security. It is enforced helplessness before a state committing genocide.
The Map Exposes the Plan
The October 2025 ceasefire map left Israel controlling approximately 53 percent of Gaza behind the Yellow Line. Instead of moving towards the border, Israeli forces pushed deeper into the enclave.
By May 2026, Israel controlled an estimated 64 percent. Netanyahu then ordered the military to expand its hold to at least 70 percent. Boundary markers were displaced, no-go areas widened and neighbourhoods absorbed into so-called buffer zones.
The terminology hides the open theft. A “security area” can contain somebody’s home, farm, school or family grave. Once Palestinians are prevented from returning and buildings are demolished, temporary control ultimately produces permanent dispossession.
Additionally, Green Rafah follows the same logic. Israel and its partners determine where rebuilding occurs, who may enter, and which residents remain excluded. Gaza is being divided into controlled islands rather than restored as one Palestinian homeland.
Genocide Behind a Ceasefire Label
Israel’s genocide did not end with the ceasefire announcement. Between October 10, 2025 and August 13, 2026, Israeli attacks killed more than 1,260 innocent Palestinians and injured 4,152.
Israel attacked Gaza on 277 of the first 309 ceasefire days. Moreover, Gaza’s Government Media Office documented at least 3,795 violations by July 19, including air strikes, artillery attacks and shootings.
By August 13, the Palestinian death toll since October 2023 had reached at least 73,389, including approximately 21,500 children.
A ceasefire permitting killing, territorial expansion, and deprivation is not peace, but a quieter framework for destroying Palestinian life.
Gaza and the West Bank Face One Strategy
In Gaza, Israel uses bombardment, siege, military zones, and controlled reconstruction. On the other hand, in the West Bank, it uses settlements, checkpoints, raids, home seizures, water deprivation, and armed settler violence.
Both systems fragment Palestinian territory and make ordinary life increasingly impossible. Families are pressured to abandon land that Israel then brings under tighter control.
Treating Gaza and the West Bank as separate problems benefits Israel. Palestine is being dismantled through connected policies, one demolished neighbourhood, seized spring, and expanded military zone at a time.
Washington Protects the Occupier
Trump and Netanyahu held a 90-minute White House meeting on July 28, their eighth since Trump returned to office. Although it was reported that Iran dominated the discussion, no binding Israeli withdrawal followed.
Trump later promoted the disarmament roadmap as a breakthrough. Netanyahu rejected its central exchange, but Washington imposed no meaningful consequence. A Board of Peace official stressed that Israel would not have to make irreversible moves or rely only on trust.
Consequently, Palestinians received no equivalent protection. They were expected to disarm irreversibly while Israel occupied most of Gaza and retained the power to attack. American military assistance, diplomatic protection, and political indulgence allow Israel to reject agreements without paying a high price.
History Has Already Answered
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 while settlements have illegally consumed Palestinian land. Oslo was presented as a temporary route towards Palestinian self-government, yet occupation deepened, and settlements expanded.
Although Israel apparently removed settlers and permanent ground forces from Gaza in 2005, it retained decisive control over its borders, airspace, and coastline before imposing a blockade. Each supposedly temporary arrangement created another instrument of domination.
Today’s conditions repeat the method – delay sovereignty, create facts on the ground, and blame Palestinians for an occupation Israel intends to preserve.
“Withdrawal Later” Means Occupation Without End
Israel does not seek a free, united and sovereign Palestine at any cost. Its policies seek a weakened Gaza, a fragmented West Bank and Palestinians too isolated to resist the loss of their homeland.
A genuine settlement would require an enforceable Israeli withdrawal, an end to genocide, unrestricted humanitarian access and Palestinian sovereignty. Israel’s formula reverses every priority.
“Disarmament first, withdrawal later” is not an offer of peace. It demands that Palestinians become defenceless while the state destroying their homeland decides how much of Palestine they may still inhabit.
