Senior members of Israeli government attend far-right conference calling to 'renew settlement in Gaza'

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other senior members of the Netanyahu government on Monday called for Jewish resettlement in Gaza while attending a far-right conference called, “Preparing to Settle Gaza.”

The conference took place on the Israeli side of the Gaza border, next to the strategically important Netzarim Corridor, which dissects the central portion of Gaza. It is currently being maintained by IDF troops.

Also in attendance were Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Social Equality and Advancement of the Status of Women Minister May Golan and Likud party lawmakers Tali Gottliv, Ariel Kallner and Avichay Buaron.

The speakers urged the government to encourage emigration of Gazans from the war-torn coastal enclave, which currently has a population of more than two million people.

“If we want to, we can renew settlement in Gaza,” Ben Gvir told the audience. “We can [also] do something else – encourage emigration. The truth is, this is the most ethical and the most correct solution,” the minister added. “The Land of Israel is ours.”

However, the controversial Israeli national security minister emphasized that the emigration of Gazans should be voluntary and not done “by force.” The residents of Gaza should know that Israel is “giving them the option” of moving to other countries, he added.

Approximately 31% of Gazans were reportedly interested in emigrating, according to a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) before Oct. 7, 2023. By contrast, in the same poll, about 21% of the Muslim Arab population in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) expressed interest in leaving.

Golan, one of the conference organizers, stressed that “taking territory” from the Arab population is what “hurts them most,” referring to the importance attached to territory in the largely traditional Middle East. In addition, the minister argued that re-establishing Israeli communities in Gaza would improve Israel’s security without elaborating.

Smotrich concurred, stressing that “without settlements, there is no security.”

In a post on 𝕏, he argued that the Gaza Strip constitutes a “part of the Land of Israel.”

“Today’s conference is part of a public process of advocacy and meant to harness [the public], and is intended to promote a practical process of pioneering, Zionist settlement,” Smotrich wrote.

Veteran Israeli settler Daniella Weiss, also an event organizer, stated that Gazans had “lost their right” to reside in the territory after the Oct. 7 invasion and mass terror attack.

“Wars bring about the terrible issue of refugees. October 7 changed history, as a result of the brutal massacre Gazan Arabs lost their right to be here; they will not stay here, they will go to different countries, we will convince the world,” Weiss said.

According to a November 2023 poll conducted by Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD), a whopping 85% of the Arab population in Gaza, Samaria and Judea (West Bank) supported the Hamas attack that resulted in the brutal murder of 1,200 and the kidnapping of 251 people into Gaza.

Some 8,000 Israeli residents lived in Gaza for decades since 1948, until Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops in 2015 Gaza and ordered the evacuation of its citizens. Smotrich argued that Israel’s decision to vacate Gaza had resulted in the establishment of “Iranian forward terror bases,” that threaten Israel’s security. Both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon are backed, financed and armed by the Iranian regime.