Israeli Security Minister Yoav Galant told American officials last week that he and the Israeli army will not allow the rebuilding of outposts or illegal settlements by Israeli settlers inside the Gaza Strip, according to what the Axios website reported on Monday, citing four American and Israeli officials. .

The Joe Biden administration is concerned about a buffer zone, which Israel plans to create within the Strip to rebuild the settlements that were dismantled during the Israeli withdrawal from it in 2005.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller previously said in December: “If there is any proposed buffer zone inside Gaza, it will be a violation of the principle of preserving the territory of the Strip, which is something we oppose.”

The Washington Post newspaper quoted an American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying that the Israeli occupation government informed the United States that the buffer zone being built inside Gaza is only a temporary security place to eliminate Hamas’ firing positions near the border.

According to Israeli Channel 12, of a total of 2,850 buildings located in the planned buffer zone, the occupation army destroyed approximately 1,100 of them.

The Washington Post monitored clips published by the occupation army and satellite images showing the destruction of dozens of homes, residential complexes, and schools and their leveling to the ground in the eastern regions of the besieged sector from both the north and south.

According to Axios, American concern has increased in recent weeks, after the settlement lobby in Israel and members of the ruling coalition began to increase pressure and call for the complete occupation of the Gaza Strip and rebuilding the settlements.

Last week, Gallant met with the US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, and the US envoy for humanitarian affairs, David Satterfield, to discuss the situation in Gaza, Israeli and American officials told Axios.

Axios added that Lew and Satterfield asked Gallant whether the buffer zone was a basis for settlements, emphasizing Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's public statements that rejected any change in Gaza's territory and opposed any damage to civilian infrastructure.

According to the website, a senior Israeli official and American officials said that Gallant committed that he would not allow the rebuilding of settlements in Gaza, and stressed that the buffer zone would be temporary and for security purposes only.

According to the Israeli official, Oded Basiuk, head of the IDF Operations Branch who attended the meeting, said that the Israeli army will not allow Israeli civilians to enter the buffer zone, because that conflicts with its security purpose.

On Sunday, twelve Israeli ministers, including three from the Likud Party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, participated in a conference in Jerusalem, which called for the rebuilding of settlements in Gaza and encouraged the exodus of Palestinians from the Strip.

Eighteen representatives in the government coalition also participated in the conference, which was, according to the website, the largest political demonstration in support of rebuilding settlements in Gaza and uprooting the Palestinian population in the Strip, since October 7.

War Cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot condemned the conference. But Netanyahu said that "the Likud members who participated in the conference have freedom of expression," but stressed that the Cabinet determines "Israeli policy."