Room for Peace
עבריתالعربيةEnglish

Israel and the Palestinians ·

Disengagement from the Gaza Strip

A unilateral Israeli step — removal of settlements and a military withdrawal — and not an agreement: it was not signed with the Palestinians and did not settle relations between the sides.

In 30 seconds

In the summer of 2005 Israel removed all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank, and pulled its forces out of the Strip. It kept control of the airspace, the sea and the land perimeter. Two years later Hamas took over the Strip.

Where it stands today

The evacuation and withdrawal were carried out in full by 12 September 20051. The situation they created did not last: since the war that began in 2023 Israeli forces are again inside the Strip, and as of October 2026 they hold, according to Reuters, about two-thirds of it4.

In one sentence

To take the settlements and the army out of the Gaza Strip by Israeli decision, without waiting for negotiations.

The challenge

In 2005 about 8,500 Israeli settlers lived in the Gaza Strip alongside about 1.3 million Palestinians1. The Roadmap was not advancing and negotiations were frozen.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced on 18 December 2003 that Israel would withdraw if the Palestinians did not fight terrorism and meet their Roadmap commitments1.

The road there

  1. Sharon announces the disengagement plan1.
  2. Removal of the settlers begins; the Gaza evacuation ends on 22 August and the northern West Bank evacuation on 23 August1.
  3. The military withdrawal from the Strip is completed, and the Israeli government formally cancels military government there1.
  4. Hamas wins the Palestinian Legislative Council election — 76 of 132 seats, according to Al Jazeera2.
  5. After fighting between the Palestinian factions, Hamas takes full military and political control of the Gaza Strip2.

The people

What the plan included

  • Removal of all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip, home to about 8,500 settlers, and of four small settlements in the northern West Bank1.
  • Withdrawal of the army from the Strip, including the Philadelphi route along the border with Egypt; Egypt deployed 750 border police there under an arrangement with Israel1.
  • Israel kept control of the Strip's land perimeter, exclusive authority over its airspace, security activity at sea and the right to re-enter the Strip1.

The geography

100%
Schematic map of Israel and its neighbours with line typesWest BankGaza StripJerusalemTel AvivGazaRamallahAmmanRafahNaharayim / Baqura

Choose a country on the map or in the list. Use + and − to zoom. On touch screens, enable gestures to drag and pinch; scroll the page outside the map. Keyboard: arrows to pan, + and − to zoom, Home to reset.

Layers · Legend
  • International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
  • Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
  • 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
  • “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
  • Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
  • Other international boundary
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
  • Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
  • UN area of separation (UNDOF)

Classification follows the original research as of 7 Oct 2026. This schematic map is not a legal boundary map or a live update.

  • International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
  • Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
  • 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
  • “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
  • Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
  • Other international boundary
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
  • Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
  • UN area of separation (UNDOF)

Schematic map. Lines are approximate and are not a legal determination. Data: Natural Earth (public domain), 1:10m scale; line classification and place names by this site. Lines as of October 2026. Peace map

The hard decisions

  • The strongest opposition came from religious settlers; about 55,000 soldiers and police were mobilised for the evacuation, and it passed without armed clashes between Israelis1.
  • During the weeks of the evacuation there were two shooting attacks by Israelis on Arabs: an army deserter killed four Arab citizens of Israel on 4 August, and a settler shot four Palestinians in the West Bank on 17 August1.

Where accounts differ

According to The Israeli government
When the last soldiers left, on 12 September 2005, the government formally cancelled military government in the Strip1.
According to The Palestinian Authority
Israel remains an occupying power as long as it controls the access points to the Strip1.
According to International Court of Justice (advisory opinion, July 2024)
Even after the 2005 withdrawal Israel kept a form of remote control over the Strip, and its obligations under the law of occupation are commensurate with the degree of its effective control there3.

What was carried out

  • The evacuation and withdrawal were completed in less than a month1.
  • Although the step was defined as unilateral, there was coordination with the Palestinian Authority on security and assets, and the Quartet's envoy James Wolfensohn raised 14 million dollars to buy greenhouses that were handed to the Palestinians1.

What was not

  • The two sides did not reach an arrangement at the time on the crossings and on the movement of people and goods, which are vital to the Strip's economy1.

What changed in real life

  • After the Hamas election victory Israel imposed economic and security restrictions on the Strip, and after its takeover in June 2007 a land, sea and air blockade was imposed; according to Al Jazeera, about 80% of residents became dependent on aid2.
  • A Palestinian split emerged: Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank2.

What remains open

  • The disengagement was not part of a political settlement and did not lead to one. On 7 October 2023 the Hamas-led brutal terrorist attack on Israel was launched from the Strip, and the war in Gaza followed; see the Gaza ceasefire.

Sources

  1. Research Congressional Research Service · 16 September 2005
    Israel's Disengagement from Gaza (RS22000)
  2. Press Al Jazeera · 8 July 2026
    Timeline: 20 years of Hamas rule in Gaza, from election to political exit
  3. Research Lieber Institute for Law and Warfare, West Point
    The ICJ Obligations of Israel Advisory Opinion – Qualifying Israel as an Occupying Power in the Gaza Strip
  4. Press Reuters (published by The Jerusalem Post) · 6 October 2026
    One year on, Trump's Gaza plan has not stopped Israeli fire or disarmed Hamas - explainer