Source: The Conversation – UK
Israel is gearing up for an election at the end of October. And, with the Likud party of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, trailing in the polls, his government is pushing through measures which aim to dramatically expand Israeli control over Palestinian land on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The October 27 poll will be the first since Hamas’s October 2023 attack, the bloodiest assault on Israel since its creation, and the devastating war on Gaza that followed. It appears that with the failure of the war in Iran to achieve its strategic objectives, and amid continuing instability in Lebanon, Netanyahu’s government believe that territorial expansion will be one of its strongest electoral assets.
The expansion of settlements in the West Bank and the steady reduction of Palestinian-controlled territory in Gaza are not new developments. But the recent announcement by the defence minister, Israel Katz, of plans to establish three military-community outposts in northern Gaza marks a significant escalation. Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, meanwhile, recently announced 1.3 billion shekel (£318m) in funding for dozens of new Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Such proposals are likely to resonate with Israel’s increasingly right-wing electorate. But they may also reflect a broader effort to consolidate territorial gains before a possible change in political leadership.
The focus of international attention has shifted since the end of February towards Iran and Lebanon. So, with less scrutiny of developments in Palestinian territories, the government appears determined, in the words of Hagit Ofran, from the Israeli activist group Peace Now, to “create facts on the ground” before voters go to the polls.
The increasing suffocation of Gaza
Israel already controls around 65% of the Gaza Strip, with Netanyahu aiming to seize 70%, despite the ceasefire agreement brokered in October 2025. Recent satellite imagery shows the construction of a more than 23km earth barrier designed to consolidate Israeli control over these areas.
Even before the war, Gaza was one of the world’s most densely populated territories. Roughly 2.2 million people lived within just 365 square kilometres, making it the fifth most densely populated territory globally. With the current population estimated at around 2.05 million, reducing the accessible territory to only 30% of the Strip would more than triple population density to nearly 19,000 people per square kilometre.
Meanwhile, around three-quarters of Gaza’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, while 1.4 million people require adequate shelter. The destruction of water, sanitation and waste infrastructure has left around 60% of the population exposed to sewage or human waste. More than 900,000 people live amid accumulated garbage that fuels rodent infestations and disease outbreaks. Chickenpox has spread through overcrowded displacement camps. People in tents report being bitten by rats.
At the same time, the destruction of agricultural land and grazing areas has further undermined Gaza’s capacity to sustain its population.
The ambitious reconstruction proposals promoted by Trump’s Board of Peace, including “Project Sunrise”, which envisioned transforming Gaza into a futuristic high-tech city comparable to Dubai or Doha, appear to have been abandoned. They have been replaced by plans for a limited humanitarian zone, which will be capable of accommodating only a small fraction of Gaza’s displaced population. There has been little consultation with Palestinians themselves.
Meanwhile, the violence of the Israeli army in the Strip continues. More than 1,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the ceasefire took effect. This includes documented shootings of civilians and children near the so-called Yellow Line. This is the line of occupation established by the Israeli army as part of the ceasefire, with soldiers reportedly operating under permissive ‘shoot to kill’ rules in this area. But most of those killed between July 13 and 20 died well away from this buffer zone. Clearly, more than nine months after the ceasefire, nowhere in Gaza can be considered safe.
Against this backdrop, defence minister Katz has openly reaffirmed the government’s objective of the large-scale expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. This would be implemented, he said in May, “at the right time and in the right manner”.
The continued fragmentation of the West Bank
The simultaneous intensification of land seizures in the West Bank has attracted even less international attention. Since October 2023, the Israeli government has armed thousands of settlers and incorporated many into territorial defence units. This has further blurred the distinction between the Israeli military and armed settler groups.
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has documented what it describes as the forced displacement of Palestinian communities on a scale unseen since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967. Human rights organisations increasingly argue that military operations and settler violence operate in tandem, systematically displacing Palestinian communities.
Smotrich recently described this as a “revolution in settlement”. Following cabinet approval for 13 new settlements in the central West Bank, violence has intensified around newly established outposts. Settlement expansion and settler violence reinforce one another, creating conditions that encourage the displacement of Palestinians.
A pre-election territorial grab
The cumulative effect of these actions and policies raises profound legal and moral questions under the 1948 Genocide Convention. This defines genocide not only as killing members of a protected group but also as deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction, in whole or in part, when accompanied by the requisite intent.
The large-scale displacement andof Palestinians and the continued deterioration of living conditions have led a growing number of international legal scholars, UN experts and human rights organisations to argue that these policies warrant assessment through the legal framework of genocide.
Whatever the eventual legal determination, the humanitarian and political consequences for Palestinians continue to deepen as Israel’s current government accelerates its territorial project amid the countdown to the October election.
Irit Katz receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust. She is active in Mi-Neged, an action group of UK-based Israelis fighting for justice and equality for all.
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/07/24/as-israel-prepares-for-october-election-the-government-is-accelerating-its-land-grab-in-the-west-bank-and-gaza/