Captured state: Israel 20 years after disengaging from Gaza

"driven by a sense of curiosity, Yossi Mekelberg, now a senior consulting fellow with Chatham House, talked his way into a restricted Gaza to see firsthand the impact of Israel's decision to disengage from the enclave. I joined a bus carrying settlers to one of the cemeteries in Gaza on the day of Tisha B'av, he told Al Jazeera, referring to a day of mourning and fasting when Jews commemorate the destruction of their First and Second Temples and other historical tragedies."

"The impact of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to dismantle the 21 illegal settlements in Gaza extended beyond the enclave. Massive protests erupted across Israel as the demolitions approached, and tens of thousands of settlers and far-right supporters took to the streets. (Al Jazeera) Roads were blocked, sit-ins staged and government offices occupied. Clashes with police and soldiers escalated, leading to mass arrests."

"I spoke to one of the settler leaders. He said it wasn't over by a long stretch, Mekelberg continued. Giving up Gaza wasn't like giving up southern Lebanon or Sinai [in Egypt]. [For them,] giving up Gaza was the first step towards giving up the West Bank and the entire project of Greater Israel. He told me that the next time the government tried this, they'd be ready. He was essentially talking about civil war."

Twenty years after the Gaza withdrawal, far-right parties and settler groups hold decisive influence within Israeli politics. The 2005 dismantling of 21 Gaza settlements provoked massive domestic protests, road blockages, sit-ins, clashes with security forces and mass arrests. Settler leaders framed the disengagement as a first step toward losing the West Bank and the broader Greater Israel project, warning of future confrontations and even civil war. The withdrawal briefly raised hopes for renewed commitment to a two-state solution, but political power shifted as erstwhile marginalized factions consolidated influence and moved from the political wilderness into central government decision-making.

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