Israel's ruling party organizes controversial ‘Settle in Gaza’ conference
Several ministers and officials in Netanyahu’s government will be attending the event organized by the Nachala settler movement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has issued
invitations to an event near the Gaza border titled “Preparing to Settle in Gaza,” which is scheduled to take place next week.
The event will include the construction of a Sukkah (a Jewish hut used in the Sukkot holiday), as part of a “city of sukkahs” initiative led by Nachala settler movement, known for its establishment of several illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank.
Several government ministers, including Social Equality Minister May Golan and other MKs, will attend the event, according to the newspaper.
The invitation mentions that six other members of the Netanyahu’s political party will take part.
“The event is not just a theoretical conference, but a practical exercise and preparation for renewed settlement in Gaza. The return to settlement in Gaza is no longer just an idea but a process that is already in advanced stages, with government and public support,” the Nachala settler movement said on 16 October.
“A year after the pogroms (of 7 October), we will stand together – Likud members, regional [Likud] branch chairs, MKs and ministers – to jointly declare that ‘Gaza is ours. Forever,'” says the poster advertising the
conference scheduled for 21 October.
In January, the Nachala movement
organized a similar event attended by several top officials, which aimed to promote Gaza’s resettlement and the emigration of Palestinians out of the besieged strip.
In May, a coalition of Israeli settler groups enjoying government funding held a conference to discuss a “practical” plan to build Jewish settlements in Gaza.
Netanyahu claims there are no plans to facilitate a resettlement of the Gaza Strip. Yet Tel Aviv’s refusal of any withdrawal or ceasefire initiative and the clearing out of large areas of Gaza for indefinite military control, including the latest operations north of the strip, have prompted critics to suggest otherwise.
Israel is currently attempting to expel the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remaining in northern Gaza to transform it into a military zone under the ‘
General’s Plan.’
The premier suggested last year that Israel will maintain indefinite security and military control over post-war Gaza.
In recent months, Israeli forces in Gaza have
expanded their presence in Gaza by establishing new land corridors and permanent outposts.
Several ministers and officials in Netanyahu’s government will be attending the event organized by the Nachala settler movement
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