A settlement movement meeting calls for “Jewish settlement” in the Gaza Strip (social networking sites)

Occupied Jerusalem -

The statements of the Chairman of the National Security Committee and Member of the Knesset, Zvika Vogel, in which he stressed that the war on the Gaza Strip must end with the return of “Jewish settlement” throughout the Strip, reflected the consensus of the various right-wing camp movements that control the political map in Israel.

The calls of Fogel, a leader in the "Jewish Greatness" party headed by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, coincide with the proposals of many far-right, religious, and settlement parties.

It is also consistent with the results of an Israeli public opinion poll conducted by the well-known pollster Manu Geva during the first weeks of the war, which indicate that the majority of the Jewish public supports settlement in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu supported the settlement conference held in occupied Jerusalem last January (Government Press Office)

Misleading idea

The same poll showed that this majority believes in the necessity and right of return and settlement in Gaza, and according to political and party groups and affiliations, between 60% and 70% of voters of the right-wing bloc and the current government support settlement in the Gaza Strip.

On the other hand, between 16% and 22% of left-wing or center bloc voters support “Jewish settlement” in the Gaza Strip.

This Israeli consensus culminated in the conference held in occupied Jerusalem at the end of last January on the return of settlement in Gaza, with the participation of 12 ministers and more than 15 members of Knesset from the government coalition, with the blessing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The conference, which expressed the settlement project in all of historic Palestine, was opened by the head of the settlement council in the West Bank, Yossi Dagan, saying, "The Oslo Accords are dead. We are returning to Gush Katif. We have struggled together for 16 years to correct the shame of separation, deportation, and displacement of settlements."

The consensus was not limited to politicians and settlement movements. Rather, various Israeli media outlets interacted with it, which promoted the idea of ​​the return of Jewish settlement to the Gaza Strip, and gave settler leaders platforms to explain and promote how to implement calls and turn them into reality on the ground.

“For three months, the godmother of the settlement movement, Daniela Weiss, has been diligently moving from studio to studio, from interview to interview, rallying Israelis to the misleading idea of ​​Jewish settlement in the entire Gaza Strip, saying that there is only one thing that has not failed,” TV critic Ioanna Gonen tells Haaretz. The Zionist project, which is settlement in the Land of Israel.

An Israeli soldier in Gaza raises a banner reading “Gush Katif... We are back” (social networking sites)

allegations

In fact, TV critic Ioanna Gonen adds, “Weiss is not a marginal figure, but rather a determined activist in the settlement project with a strong track record in the field, and who knows how to turn dangerous dreams into bloody reality.”

The same spokesman adds that the government has a good number of parties and ministers who are partners in Weiss's crazy vision, and even in the Israeli army, which remains silent about the role of soldiers and their interaction with the return of settlement in the Gaza Strip.

The idea of ​​​​a return to Gaza settlement has spread even among the Israeli army, which found itself forced to reprimand Major of the 7th Armored Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Ofir Kaspi, due to statements in a conversation with journalists in Khan Yunis a few days ago in which he claimed that “this settlement will be the ideal solution and the finger in the eye of the Islamic Resistance Movement.” (Hamas),” he claimed.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted Caspi as saying, “Even if we kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, it will not do anything. The ideology of Hamas and what it did on October 7 will remain. It is true that if we kill him, the movement will be severely damaged, but I believe that The solution lies in settlements such as the West Bank, in his estimation.

These calls, which focused on the return of settlement to the “Gush Katif” settlement area that was evacuated as part of the unilateral “disengagement” plan initiated by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2005, crystallized with the start of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, where it was enshrined in Israeli discourse. As the war on the Gaza Strip continues.

The idea of ​​returning Jewish settlement to the Gaza Strip began as if it were marginal, says Channel 12 culture and society correspondent Ilan Lukacs, “but as the war continued, it became stronger and penetrated into broad circles in Israeli society.”

Lukacs pointed out that the idea quickly expanded in light of the support in Israeli society for rebuilding the Jewish settlements in northern Gaza, in parallel with encouraging "voluntary migration" of the Palestinian population in the Strip.

High price

The idea of ​​returning settlement was initially limited to the extreme right parties, especially the "Jewish Greatness" party and the "Religious Zionism" coalition headed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

However, the Israeli journalist says, "it has begun to gain more central votes within the ruling Likud Party headed by Netanyahu, and there are already elements that have begun preparations for the process of returning Jewish settlement to the Gaza Strip."

Settlement Minister Orit Struck told Israeli Channel 12 that the possibility of imagining a settlement return for Jews to the Gaza Strip and the re-establishment of “Gush Katif” among two million Palestinians is like a barrel of explosives.

She added, "But returning to the Gaza Strip will also include many sacrifices. There is no doubt that Gaza is ultimately part of the Land of Israel, and the day will come when we return to it," as she claimed.

In contrast to this consensus, the General Director of the Darkhino Association, Nimrod Dweik, wrote an article in the Maarif newspaper entitled “The return to Gush Katif means a bloody burden on the Zionist dream.”

He pointed out that using war to re-settle the Gaza Strip means the continuation of bloodshed, saying that "Israel went to war to return the detainees and ensure security and safety for the residents of the south, the western Negev, and the Gaza Strip," in his opinion.

Dweik added, "We are fighting there to defeat an enemy that wants to destroy the national home from the Jordan River to the sea. Resettlement in the Gaza Strip is not only part of the objectives of the operation, but it is also a struggle against the Zionist project."

He explained that the return of settlement in the Gaza Strip will require the “moderate” Israeli majority to pay a heavy price in blood, will require the army to deal with the security of the settlements in the heart of the Palestinian population hostile to the Zionist vision, and will increase the difficulty of ensuring the existence of an Israeli state with a Jewish majority.

Source: Al Jazeera