The Knesset caucus calling to resettle Gaza convened on Tuesday for its first meeting, led by Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech and Religious Zionist Party MK Zvi Sukkot.
Sukkot opened the meeting by arguing that settlement was a Zionist value and that the call to resettle Gaza was part of the Zionist goal of Jewish settlement in the biblical Land of Israel.
Daniella Weiss, the influential head of Nachala Movement Israel, whose stated aim is to settle further into Judea and Samaria, said that her goal was to begin Jewish settlement in Gaza within “months.” According to Weiss, over 600 families meaning over 2,500 people had already registered for an initiative to settle in Gaza.
The first step in settlement, Weiss continued, was to raise public awareness. She mentioned a number of conferences that took place to this end, including one at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center (ICC), in which 10 ministers attended, and an estimated 50,000-person march in Sderot on Independence Day.
Plans for Gaza resettlement
Weiss outlined specific plans for settlement. She said that groups would train and be ready to enter Gaza as soon as possible. This would likely begin in northern Gaza and may start based on IDF outposts and expand from there. According to Weiss, this level of readiness would be accompanied by political activity in the Knesset and elsewhere. Weiss stressed the urgency of her cause, saying that resettling could not wait for “the day after Hamas” in Gaza.
Weiss, in conclusion, said that the model for resettling Gaza should “copy-paste” what happened in Samaria over the past 50 years.
Former far Right Knesset member Moshe Feiglin added that he supported settling southern Lebanon as well – up to the Litani River.
Feiglin called this area “part of the Galilee.” According to him, between the “river and the sea,” there needed to be Jewish settlements alone, and there was “no room” for anyone other than the people of Israel.
Feiglin called for the occupation and expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. The true victory was not just military victory but also included settlement, he made clear.
Politicians who attended the caucus other than Sukkot and Son-Harmelech included National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu, MK Zvika Fogel from Otzma Yehudit, the Likud’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, and MKs Amit Halevi and Ariel Kallner.
Fogel, in his speech, repeated Feiglin’s claim that the only real triumph was the settlement of Gaza, adding that Shifa Hospital in Gaza City should become a museum of the October 7 massacre.
Eliyahu quoted late prime minister Menachem Begin, who said that settlement was a “right.” According to Eliyahu, the Hamas terrorists succeeded on October 7 because they had “spirit” and a “vision” to capture all of Israel, and Israelis likewise must “raise their banner” and act toward claiming all of the Land of Israel. He said that he could not tell a soldier to enter Gaza if the purpose eventually was to hand Gaza to the PLO.
Ben-Gvir also spoke at the caucus, saying that he was “focused on the goal” of a resettlement of Gaza and that “in the current coalition, we are not embarrassed to bring up these things. We just need to remind ourselves of one thing: That settlement is not enough. There also needs to be a voluntary emigration [of Palestinians] in place.”