Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip

In 2005, following the Second Intifada (2000–05), Israel withdrew its forces from the Gaza Strip and dismantled and evacuated the 21 settlements it built there during its occupation of the territory (1967–2005). Israel maintained troops around the Gaza–Israel barrier and the surrounding area and took exclusive control of the airspace over Gaza and its territorial waters, blockading and actively controlling and restricting the movement of people and goods. Due to the Israeli blockade, the Gaza Strip has continued to be regarded by the United Nations, many other international humanitarian and legal organizations, and most academic commentators as being under Israeli occupation, as affirmed by the 2024 International Court of Justice advisory opinion. Historically, according to Article 42 of the Hague Regulations and precedent in international law, it has been generally understood that a territory remains effectively occupied so long as a belligerent's authority is established and exercised over it, even if said belligerent does not have ground forces deployed in the area.

Proposed by Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in 2003 and adopted by the Cabinet in 2004, the strategy was officially approved by the Knesset as the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law in June 2004. A deadline was issued for August 15, 2005, after which the IDF began evicting all Israeli settlers who were refusing to accept government compensation packages in exchange for voluntarily vacating their homes in the Gaza Strip. By September 12, all Israeli residential buildings in the territory had been demolished and the 8,000+ Israeli settlers who inhabited them had been removed. The dismantlement of the four West Bank settlements was completed ten days later.

The disengagement was executed unilaterally by Israel and without coordination with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Yet among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the disengagement was met positively in light of earlier skepticism surrounding Israel's intention to withdraw from the territory. Among Israelis, polls showed support for the disengagement in the 50–60% range and opposition in the 30–40% range. The IDF met heavy resistance and riots while conducting evictions throughout the Gaza Strip settlements. Former and future Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu resigned from Sharon's government in protest.

The Gaza Strip disengagement occurred seven months after the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit, which ended the Second Intifada.

As part of this process, four Israeli settlements in the West Bank were dismantled as well.

Israeli officials, historians, and legal analysts cited several motives behind the country's decision to withdraw from the territory, with the two most significant factors being: the unsustainable cost of persistent and intensive fighting with Hamas and other Palestinian militant organizations; and demographic concerns rooted in the discrepancy between the Israeli birth rate and the Palestinian birth rate, as the latter greatly outpaced the former. According to Sharon, the disengagement plan was aimed at addressing Israel's long-term security challenges by shifting the country's resources to focus on strengthening the areas that "will constitute an inseparable part of the State of Israel in any future agreement" with the Palestinians.