conference' in Jerusalem next Sunday, claiming the
occupation and resettlement of former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip 'as the only thing that will bring security
An Israeli flag stands on the top of a destroyed building in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, in November. The Israeli military says it has taken control of northern Gaza as it proceeds with a ground offensive against Hamas, launched in response to the militant group's deadly cross-border attack on Oct.7.Credit: Leo Correa/AP
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Jan 24, 2024 2:41 pm IST
Thousands of participants are expected to gather on Sunday in Jerusalem's Binyanei Hauma for an event entitled "Conference for the Victory of Israel – Settlement Brings Security: Returning to the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria."
According to conference organizers, the event will be led by rabbis, settlement activists, families of soldiers currently fighting in Gaza, heads of southern councils and many public figures, including, notably, Knesset members and ministers from the current coalition government.
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During the conference, participants will be presented with details of Jewish settlements, maps, and the stages of preparation, along with calls for decision-makers to acknowledge that a war victory can only be claimed through the Jewish resettling of the Gaza Str
In 2005, Israel unilaterally dismantled 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in northern Samaria. Residents were forcibly removed by the army after refusing to evacuate, and their homes were eventually destroyed. The disengagement was an extremely polarizing event for Israelis at the time.
Tourism Minister Haim Katz is one of the ministers calling on the public to attend the conference, which will present a picture of "the day after" the war in Gaza. In an interview with the Israeli Ynet news website, Katz said, "It is clear after the barbaric massacre on October 7 that the mistake of displacing the settlements of Gush Katif and northern Samaria must be corrected."
He continued: "The withdrawal created the Nazi monster in the Gaza Strip and the wave of terrorism that has come out of northern Samaria in recent years… The restoration of security will be accomplished through a strong military strike and through the renewal of settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. The people of Israel must win."
Approximately twenty ministers and MKs from Prime Minister's Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition are planning to attend, including Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar, who filmed a video calling on people to attend the conference.
"We are holding an important conference where we will clearly explain why settlements are important, why preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state is important," Zohar says in the video, flanked by Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Council and Daniella Weiss, head of the Nachala movement.
"After what we experienced on October 7th, everyone understands that the way for us to succeed as a people and a nation is by maintaining our values and our principles through settlement and guarding the land," Zohar added.
Others slated to attend Sunday's conference include Likud MKs Hanoch Milwidsky, Nissim Vaturi, Amit Halevi, Tali Gottlieb, Etty Atia, Moshe Passal and Ariel Kallner, Otzma Yehudit ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir, Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amichai Eliyahu, and MKs Limor Son Har-Melech, Yitzhak Kroizer, Almog Cohen and Tzvika Foghel and Religious Zionism lawmakers Moshe Solomon, Tzvi Succot and Michal Woldiger.
This is not the first time since the war broke out that Israeli lawmakers have come together to declare their shared desire for Jewish resettlement of Gaza. At the Caucus to Strengthen the Awareness of Israeli Victory which took place at the Knesset earlier this month, right wing politicians and leaders met to discuss the topic "How Israel's Victory Will Look at the End of the War."
Open gallery view
Israeli protesters calling for the occupation of Gaza, in Tel Aviv, last month.Credit: Tomer Applebaum
Religious Zionism MK Tzvi Succot told the packed meeting: "At least in the northern Gaza Strip, we first have to conquer, annex, destroy all the houses, build neighborhoods – large and expansive neighborhoods, large settlements in that place that will be named after our heroes, after the nation's heroes who fought there. We'll distribute free plots there to the soldiers who fought, to the wounded who fought."
Such calls for a return to the Gaza Strip have sparked widespread condemnation both within Israel and abroad. Israel president Isaac Herzog said that the resettlement of Palestinians out of Gaza is "outright, officially and unequivocally not Israel's position."
In a press conference held in Doha at the beginning of January, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Israeli lawmakers advocating for Jewish resettlement in Gaza, calling their comments "irresponsible" and "inflammatory."
In their opening arguments at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, South Africa also included these inflammatory statements made by Israeli lawmakers as part of their proof that Israel was guilty of "incitement to genocide."
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