Israel is recycling an old colonial plan in Gaza
Displaced Palestinian families sheltering inside the UNRWA-run Malak School in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, find themselves suddenly located within the newly designated ‘yellow line’ after the Israeli army repositioned the yellow concrete blocks used to demarcate the so-called “temporary withdrawal line” inside Gaza, 9 December 2025.
Qassam Muaddi writes in Mondoweiss on 14 December 2025:
When Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said that the “Yellow Line” cutting Gaza in half will be Israel’s new border, he was enshrining a decades-old Israeli policy toward Gaza.
Today, it boils down to a simple logic: divide the Gaza Strip into two areas separated by the Yellow Line — one remains under Israeli control, with residential blocks constructed for Palestinians to move into after security vetting (without being allowed to leave), and the other is placed under international control, where no reconstruction takes place and only minimal aid would be allowed through.
For now, Israel is willing to settle for this endgame in Gaza, and is actively pushing to expand what it might mean for the continued residence of Palestinians in the Strip. Although Zamir’s statement contradicts the officially stated aim of U.S. President Trump’s plan for Gaza — which outlines a full Israeli withdrawal at the end of the second phase of the ceasefire — the fact that such a vision was articulated by Israel’s highest military figure means it is a reflection of the heart of Israel’s security doctrine and its historic posture toward approaching the “Gaza question.”
This vision was made clear since before the ceasefire, when Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said back in July that Palestinians in Gaza would be “concentrated” in a “humanitarian city” built over the ruins of Rafah, a plan that was universally condemned by rights groups as a thinly-veiled bid to build a “concentration camp.” More recently, a similar vision emerged in November, when reconstruction plans were reported to be underway on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line, where U.S. officials reportedly said a “new Gaza” would be built. The area falling under Israeli control makes up about 53% of Gaza, although Israel has been expanding the Yellow Line deeper into Gazan territory over the last few weeks.