What is the validity of interpreting the verse: (And it is forbidden for a town which We have destroyed that they should [ever] return) [Al-Anbiya/95], to mean that the town is Israel, and that the emergence of Israel is a sign of the emergence of Gog and Magog?

The Almighty's saying: (And it is forbidden for a town which We have destroyed that they should not return) does not indicate that Gog and Magog are the Children of Israel. Rather, the meaning is that these were towns which Allah destroyed due to the hardening of their hearts and their persistence in disbelief, so they would not return to faith and repentance, or it would be impossible for them to return to the world after destruction. The evidence indicates that Gog and Magog will emerge at the end of time, at the time of the descent of Jesus (peace be upon him), and they are two great nations from the children of Adam. The barrier built by Dhul-Qarnayn is a physical barrier, as its construction and material are described in Surat Al-Kahf. Furthermore, they exist and dig at the barrier daily to emerge, and they will emerge when Allah permits them, as stated in the authentic hadiths which describe their digging at the barrier, their emergence, their corruption on Earth, their end, and that an opening in the barrier of Gog and Magog occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).