The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said that it had seen satellite and photographic images taken last Tuesday, revealing that the Israeli occupation army is building and developing two settlement outposts on what it described as a strategic road that divides the Gaza Strip into two halves.

The Israeli army calls the construction and development of the two settlement outposts the “Netzarim Corridor,” describing it as a long-term achievement, and confirms that the corridor was built to last.

The "Netzarim Road", located in the middle of the corridor, divides the Gaza Strip into two halves. The two settlement outposts were built along this road, which aims to enable the Israeli army to control the movement of Palestinians from south to north and launch operations in different parts of the Strip, according to the Israeli newspaper report.

Two settlement outposts

According to Haaretz, the two settlement outposts are located at the crossroads between the “Netzarim Road,” and one of the outposts is located at the crossroads of the Netzarim and Salah al-Din Roads, and the other is at the intersection of the Gaza coastal road.

It says that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled across the region from the north of the Gaza Strip to its south in the early stages of the war.

The process of building the two settlements appeared clearly in satellite images taken at different times during the war by Planet Labs, a company specialized in collecting remote data on the Earth and photographing it using these satellites.

According to the newspaper, the photos show that “Netzarim” was paved to be an extension of the already existing road. Its lands were also prepared for the establishment of the two settlements. The army transferred its equipment to it after that.

Israel established the Netzarim settlement in 1977, 5 kilometers from Gaza City, with an area estimated at 2,325 dunums (a dunum equals a thousand square metres).

While the total area that Israel controlled to secure the settlers was about 4,300 dunums. On August 15, 2005, the Israeli army began evacuating the settlers.

"Netzarim base"

According to Haaretz, the photos also show air-conditioned housing units brought to the site, electrical power infrastructure, and toilets and bathrooms. The phrase "Welcome to the Netzarim base" was written on a concrete barrier at the outposts on the coastal road.

Haaretz added that the Netzarim Corridor - which is currently controlled by Israel - is among the negotiating points between Tel Aviv and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which demands the withdrawal of the Israeli army from it and from the settlement outposts established on it.

On the other hand, the Israeli army considers the construction and control of the corridor an achievement achieved through its war on Gaza, and wants its occupation of the site to continue for a long period of time, which the Hamas movement does not accept, as the newspaper indicates.

In two of the videos - taken not far from the Salah al-Din Road site - Israeli soldiers can be seen singing and dancing.

Source: Haaretz