Israeli politicians call for Gaza resettlement at conference attended by far-right activists

Speakers at the event, which took place at the border of the strip, say Palestinians should be moved to other countries

The conference drew high-profile activists and government ministers. Reuters

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Hundreds of Israelis including right-wing and ultranationalist activists gathered at the border of Gaza on Monday for a conference on re-establishing Jewish settlements in the strip. Politicians, including senior ministers, outlined plans to resettle inhabitants of the enclave, one of the most controversial objectives of the country’s growing far-right.

Organisers told the crowds, which included many families who say they are ready to settle in Gaza, that the current Palestinian population “lost their right” to live in the strip after the October 7 attacks. “They will not stay here, they will go to different countries, we will convince the world,” said Daniella Weiss, a long-time activist who spearheads the movement to resettle Gaza's Palestinians elsewhere.

The war on Gaza has destroyed much of area and killed more than 42,600 people. Israelis have settled in the area before, but the state removed them in 2005, an episode that still evokes feelings of anger and betrayal among many in the settler movement. Ms Weiss said her organisation, Nachala, has 700 families who are willing to settle in Gaza as soon as possible. Throughout the current conflict, far-right activists have called for resettling the strip's inhabitants for a mixture of religious, nationalist and security reasons.

Government politicians were in attendance. They included some from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, one of the country’s most popular political parties which had secular nationalist origins but has moved significantly closer to the religious right in recent years. Mr Netanyahu has, however, rejected the idea of resettling Palestinians in Gaza on a number of occasions.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and member of the Jewish Strength party, one of the most extreme Cabinet ministers in the history of Israel, said “many Israelis have changed their thinking” after October 7 and now “understand that when Israel acts like the rightful owners of the land, this is what bring results”. Mr Ben-Gvir said Israel will ensure Gazans move elsewhere. “We will offer them the opportunity to move to other countries because this land belongs to us,” he said.

Dozens of Israelis protested against the staging of the event at nearby Kibbutz Be’eri, scene of one of the worst attacks of October 7. Demonstrators waved banners with the faces of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. At one point, sirens sounded in the region and Israel’s military said it had intercepted a projectile fired from northern Gaza.