The orange line: Israel’s silent border for swallowing Gaza
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As the world awaits the implementation of the “Trump Plan” for withdrawal from Gaza, a report by the website Mediapart reveals a new Israeli strategy that employs “color-based engineering” to delineate the borders of a permanent occupation.
The plan aims to transform Gaza into a “demilitarized zone,” with a transitional governance mechanism under international and regional guarantees, directly overseen by US President Donald Trump through a new international body tasked with monitoring implementation.
After establishing the “yellow line,” which isolates 54% of the Gaza Strip’s eastern area, a de facto, undeclared Israeli “orange line” has emerged, gradually creeping westward to transform the remaining “safe” areas into death traps, according to an investigation by Gwenaëlle Lenoir. The investigation highlights that the borders are no longer merely barbed wire, but have become colored lines that control the fate of 2.3 million people. While the yellow line (reinforced with concrete blocks) separates areas under Israeli military control from civilian areas, the “orange line” has emerged as a new, draining border. The Chief of Staff of the occupation army, Eyal Zamir, summarized this vision in December 2025 by saying to his soldiers: “The yellow line actually constitutes a new border line; it is an advanced defensive line for the communities (settlements) and an offensive line at the same time.”
