Hundreds of Israelis, including government ministers, attend event calling for settlements in Gaza
Hundreds of right-wing Israeli activists, including government ministers and members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition, gathered on Monday for an event advocating for Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Key attendees included National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Minister for Social Equality and Women’s Empowerment May Golan, who joined the event near the Gaza border.
While Netanyahu has publicly stated that Israel does not plan to resettle Gaza, several members of his Likud party, along with Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, were present. Golan was one of the prominent Likud figures participating.
The call for new settlements in Gaza was coupled with demands for the expulsion of Palestinians from the territory. Daniella Weiss, a prominent leader in the Zionist settler movement, declared to an enthusiastic crowd, “As a result of the brutal massacre on October 7th, the Gaza Arabs lost their right to be here. We are here for one clear goal: to settle the entire Gaza Strip, from north to south.”
The event took place in the desert near Kibbutz Be’eri, overlooking Gaza, where stages were set up, and participants sang, danced, and distributed leaflets promoting resettlement as vital to Israel’s security. Throughout the event, the sound of outgoing artillery fire into Gaza could be heard.
