A conference on ‘the return to the Gaza Strip’ took place in Jerusalem on Sunday, attended by several Israeli ministers and politicians. Plans for the establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza were presented with the slogan ‘settlements bring security’.
During the conference, maps showing planned Israeli settlements spread across the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City and Khan Younis, were shown.
Twelve ministers and fifteen members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, participated in the conference and gave speeches. Among them were Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Tourism Minister Haim Katz, both from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The participation of thousands of people, including ministers, politicians, settler groups and families of Israeli soldiers currently in Gaza, shows that plans to colonize the Gaza Strip are supported by a significant part of the Israeli government and right-wing society.
No government policy
Prime Minister Netanyahu left Saturday evening know that establishing settlements in Gaza is not government policy, but also underlined that ministers are free to express their opinions. President Isaac Herzog also emphasized that settlement plans do not represent Israel’s position. In the meantime, the plans are supported by various Likud ministers. Yoav Kisch, the Minister of Education, mentioned the conference “super legitimate”.
Israel has occupied the Gaza Strip since the 1967 war. The 21 illegal settlements established in Gaza in successive decades were dismantled in 2005. It provoked polarized reactions in Israel, with many right-wing opponents of settlement clearances.
For ultra-right politicians and settler movements, the war in Gaza offers an opportunity to rebuild settlements and call for the expulsion of the Palestinian population. According to Tourism Minister Katz, the dismantling of the settlements in 2005 contributed to “a wave of terror” from the Gaza Strip and the attack on October 7. National Security Minister Ben Gvir called for the migration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
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The leader of the Nachala settler movement, Daniella Weiss, said in a interview during the conference: “We want our hostages back. So we don’t give the Arabs any food, we don’t give them anything at all so they have to leave. The world will have to accept them.”
The conference followed two days after the interim ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague that it sees sufficient reason to further investigate South Africa’s charge that Israel is committing genocide. It also ordered Israel to take immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.
Several ministers who attended the conference in Jerusalem, including Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, are mentioned in the report that South Africa submitted to the court for statements that allegedly indicate genocidal intent.