Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Jewish settlers they can stay in the occupied Palestinian lands.

Speaking on Israeli public radio, he pledged he would never evict Jews from the West Bank.

Netanyahu said the 2005 removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip had been a mistake, as it had not brought peace or security.

"The territory has become a base for the pro-Iranian Hamas movement" he said, "and we will never make the same mistake again."

In 2005, the government of then prime minister, Ariel Sharon, unilaterally removed all Jewish settlements from Gaza and some from northern West Bank settlements, in a move aimed at ending Israel's 38-year military presence in the Gaza Strip.

Mr Sharon vowed further removals but he was incapacitated by a major stroke.

His successor Ehud Olmert abandoned the policy after an Israeli soldier was captured and never returned by Gaza-based militants.