Gaza Herald — Dozens of prominent Israeli rabbis have issued a memorandum demanding the immediate cancellation of the US-backed “Board of Peace” roadmap, explicitly rejecting the deployment of international stabilization forces to the Gaza Strip.
The religious decree, addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and members of the security cabinet, adds powerful theological backing to far-right efforts aimed at preventing Israeli withdrawal and securing permanent military control over the territory.
According to Israel Hayom, the signatories framed any withdrawal or foreign troop deployment as a direct existential threat, declaring that transferring security authority in Gaza to foreign entities could endanger the lives of Israelis and create the conditions for the establishment of a Palestinian state. By evoking the memory of the Oslo Accords to obstruct current diplomatic initiatives, the rabbinical leadership seeks to solidify an ongoing state of indefinite occupation and military siege
Alignment of State Power and Religious Extremism
The memorandum was organized in direct coordination with Nachala, an influential movement actively campaigning for the establishment of illegal Jewish settlements across the devastated Gaza Strip. Among the prominent signatories are several foundational figures of the national-religious settler movement, including Rabbi Dov Lior, long associated with radical settler theology; Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Safed known for his anti-Arab rhetoric; Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun, co-founder of the Har Etzion Yeshiva; and Rabbi Eliakim Levanon, a senior regional rabbi advocating for indefinite military presence.
This political-religious intervention reinforces the hardline stance of far-right cabinet members, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who have consistently vetoed any transitional governance framework that involves Israeli troop drawdowns or Palestinian administrative autonomy. By fusing religious authority with state power, these leaders seek to render any territorial compromise politically untouchable within the Israeli government.
Sabotaging UN Resolution 2803 and International Diplomacy
The timing of the rabbinical declaration directly targets the international governance framework established under UN Security Council Resolution 2803. Endorsed by the US-backed Board of Peace, chaired by Donald Trump, the 15-point roadmap outlines a transitional arrangement that includes a phased Israeli withdrawal, the entry of an International Stabilization Force, and civil administration under the Palestinian National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), headed by Dr. Ali Shaath.
While Palestinian factions expressed readiness to work within international parameters to facilitate relief and reconstruction, the Israeli leadership has systematically obstructed implementation. Netanyahu’s insistence on total disarmament prior to any troop movement, echoed and amplified by the rabbinical memorandum, effectively serves as a perpetual veto over the diplomatic process.
By equating international peacekeeping mechanisms with a threat to Israeli security, the political-religious establishment ensures that Gaza remains trapped under military encirclement, blocking both humanitarian relief and any viable path toward Palestinian statehood.
