Israel had dismantled its settlements in Gaza in its unilateral withdrawal from the area in 2005, after 38 years of settlers living in the Gaza Strip, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that, "Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population," he further alleged that, "Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law".[1] [2] In the context of the Israel-Hamas war, some Israelis have proposed expulsion of or creating conditions leading to the exodus of Palestinians from the area and a new wave of resettlement of the Gaza Strip.[3]
See also: Israeli settlement, Israeli disengagement from Gaza and International law and Israeli settlements. Israeli settlements are civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories, populated almost exclusively by Jewish identity or ethnicity on lands that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War in 1967.[4] [5] The expansion of settlements often involves the confiscation of Palestinian land and resources, leading to displacement of Palestinian communities and tension and conflict. Settlements are often protected by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and are frequently flashpoints for violence against Palestinians.[6] Human Rights Watch and other observer organization volunteer regularly file reports on Israeli settler violence, referring to stoning and shooting incidents involving Israeli settlers against Palestinians.[7]
The disengagement of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip was first proposed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2003, and approved by the Knesset in 2005.[8] It was implemented in August 2005, with compensation packages offered to those that would voluntarily leave their homes but others were forcibly evicted by IDF forces.[9] The year of the disengagement would see the removal of 8,475 settlers from Gaza, while in that same year the number of new settlers in the West Bank increased by 15,000.[10]
The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal on one of two bases: that they are in violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, or that they are in breach of international declarations. The United Nations, international human rights organizations and many legal scholars regard the Gaza Strip to still be under military occupation by Israel, while Israeli disputes this.[11]
Protests, gathering and movements against the disengagement and removal of settlers began shortly after the announcement of disengagement and have continued throughout the years. In October 2004, 100,000 Israelis marched in cities throughout Israel to protest the plan under the slogan "100 cities support Gush Katif and Samaria".[12] In 2014, activists started a Facebook group Returning to Gush Katif (i.e. the Jewish-Israeli Gaza settlements) a group now renamed Home - Returning to the Gaza Strip (Hebrew: הביתה - חוזרים לחבל עזה|Habayta - Khozrim le’evel ’Aza).[13] By December 2023 it had more than 10,000 followers.[14]
In late January 2024, an unnamed Israeli military officer reported that Netanyahu and others in the government had requested that military members begin to establish "permanents bases" in the Gaza Strip.[15] Reportedly, the orders were given verbally and individually to a select few.[16] Some military officials anonymously spoke out against the proposed settlements, claiming that they would be sitting ducks and would require a security partnership with authorities such as the Palestinian Authority.[17] Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz also floated in January 2024 that in event of a two state solution between Israel and Palestine an artificial island could be created off the coast of the Gaza Strip that Israel would control.[18]
By November 2023, a campaign known as "Returning Home" had already kickstarted.[19] On November 22, a conference took place in Ashdod where various grassroots organizations convened.[20] The event featured addresses not only from far-right politicians such as Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech but also from two from Netanyahu's conservative Likud party, Ariel Kallner and Tally Gotliv. Son Har-Melech stated that there was "no escape from returning and fully controlling the Gaza Strip" and that full control was "extensive and flourishing settlement" unlike the Gush Katif settlements that were concentrated. While Gotliv called for an wall and tower in the northern part of Gaza immediately.[21] Another speaker, Yossi Dagan, had led an influential lobby in the Likud Central Committee. Dagan was a prominent settler activist who had to withdraw from a settlement in a small area of the West Bank that was de-settled in 2005 around the same time as Gaza.
In November 2023, 11 leading right-wing organizations launched the "Coalition of Organizations for the Return to the Gaza Strip and All the Settlements of Northern Samaria" in a series of secret meetings.[22] The new coalition plans to call on Israelis to join settlement nuclei (gar’inim) that will rebuild the former Jewish communities of Gush Katif, starting with the northern Gaza Strip and northern Samaria.
In December 2023, hundreds of settlement activists gathered in central Israel for another conference titled "Practical Preparation for Returning to Gaza."
On January 28, 2024, a conference known as "Settlement Brings Security" (Hebrew: התיישבות מביאה ביטחון|Hitiashvút Mevi’á Bitakhón) was held in Jerusalem, sponsored by the right-wing Nachala Israeli settler organization. Amidst the war in the Gaza Strip, twelve Israeli cabinet ministers, including several from Prime Minister's Likud party, took part in the conference.[23] The director of Nachala, Daniella Weiss, referenced the 7 October attacks and the ongoing war for the need of the conference and resettlement, stating to reporters: "It's the end of the presence of Arabs in Gaza. It's the end....Instead of them, there will be many, many Jews that will return to the settlements, that will build new settlements."[2] In response to Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stating that the Palestinians living in Gaza should "go away from here", some attendees shouted "Only eviction!"[24]
The conference advocated for building new Israeli settlements in Gaza and encouraging the displacement of Palestinians living there.[25] [26] [27] About 5,000 mostly religious Israelis attended including a large presence of children and teenagers.
11 of the 37 sitting cabinet ministers attended the conference, in addition to 15 ruling-coalition MKs.[28] The presence of so many members of the government marked the elevation of the resettlement movement from the fringe of politics to new prominence, as former advisor to prime ministers Alon Pinkas wrote:[29]
"Even if you've seen one before, it's not the same. This was not a fringe opposition group: it was the government of Israel in all its political splendor, unabashedly showing its true colors. This was the governing coalition in an orgy of anti-state and antidemocratic euphoria."— Alon Pinkas, former advisor to prime ministers Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres in An Orgy of Jewish Supremacy and Antidemocratic Euphoria, Encouraged by Netanyahu, published in Ha'aretz, 29 January 2024
The 11 cabinet ministers who attended the conference are listed in the table:
| Name | Position | Party | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Itamar Ben-Gvir | Minister of National Security | Otzma Yehudit | keynote speaker | |
| Bezalel Smotrich | Minister of Finance | National Religious Party–Religious Zionism | keynote speaker | |
| Yitzhak Goldknopf | Minister of Construction Leader of the Haredi political party Agudat Yisrael Leader of the political alliance United Torah Judaism | United Torah Judaism | speaker | |
| Minister of Communications | Likud | attendee | ||
| Haim Katz | Minister of Tourism | Likud | attendee | |
| Idit Silman | Minister of Environmental Protection | Likud | attendee | |
| May Golan | Minister of Social Equality and Promotion of the Status of Women | Likud | attendee | |
| Amichai Chikli | Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Social Equality | Likud | attendee | |
| Yitzhak Wasserlauf | Minister of Development of the Periphery, Negev and Galilee | Otzma Yehudit | attendee | |
| Amihai Eliyahu | Minister of Heritage | Otzma Yehudit | attendee | |
| Orit Strook | National Religious Party–Religious Zionism | attendee |
The conference room was decorated with a giant map showing prospective settlements in the place of existing Palestinian towns[30] and cities as well as 15 re-established ones that existed before Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005. 6 were new, including large Jewish-Israeli-only settlements which were to be built on the current sites of the two largest cities in the Strip: Gaza City (2017 population 590,481) and Khan Younis (2017 pop. 205,125), in addition to Rafah (pre-war pop est.: 280,000, but which at the time of the conference had over a million refugees and residents living there).[27] [31]
The new settlements named were:[27]
The map showed Stars of David in the centers of these 3 major cities and labeled the pushpins pointing to the stars as "cores", but the map itself did not specify whether the light green area surrounding the Jewish-Israeli "cores" would be populated by Palestinians or not, although cabinet ministers frequently promoted the need to coerce Palestinians to leave their country.[32]
Organizers also presented[33] a map of a new Gaza City, also published in the Wall Street Journal,[34] with new Hebrew names for the neighborhoods and the significance of the new names. The following table summarizes the material shown on that map:
| As mentioned on the map | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "New" Hebrew name | Color | "Former" Arabic name | Meaning of "new" Hebrew name | |||||
| Romanized | Hebrew | Literal meaning | Romanized | Arabic | Literal meaning | |||
| Agripion | אגריפיון | (Place name) | Light yellow | الشاطئ | “the beachside camp” | "Herod the Great gave the place this name when he founded it." | ||
| Netzakh Israel | נצח ישראל | "Israel Eternity" | Violet | Al-Awda | العودة | “Return” (as in “Right of Return”) | The translation of the name is the neighborhood of the returnees and therefore it is appropriate to call the neighborhood Netzah Israel in the city of Ot | |
| Gavish | גָבִישׁ | "Crystal" | Burnt yellow | Al-Nasser | النصر | "Named after the ruler of Egypt Jamel Abd al-Nasser in the 1950s" | "… General of the Southern Command in the Six Day War, Yeshayahu Gavish" | |
| Najara | נַאגָּ֗ארָה | (Last name of rabbi) | Orange | Ash-Sheikh Radwan | الشيخ رضوان | "It is not known who Sheikh Radwan is and there are different traditions for Muslims and Christians." | "… Name of the famous rabbi of Gaza, Rabbi Israel Najara" | |
| King David | דוד המלך (pron. Mélekh Davíd) | Dark Yellow | Ar-Rimal | الرمال | "The Sands" | "Location of ancient synagogue of Ot, where the famous mosaic of King David is found" | ||
| Dereg | דֶרֶג | "Echelon" | Grey | Ad-Daraj | الدرج | "Named after the many steps in the neighborhood" | "There was a well-known Jewish community there in the 19th century" | |
| Hagdud Ha'ivri | הגדוד העברי | "Hebrew Regiment" | Purple | At-Tuffah | التفاح | "’The Apple‘, named after the apple trees that grew there in the neighborhood" | "There is an English Cemetery where the soldiers of the Hebrew Regiment killed during the occupation of Gaza are buried." | |
| Shadi 'Aza | שעדי | "Heroes of Gaza" | Darky murky grey | Shejaiya | الشجاعية | "’Courage‘, meaning ’neighborhood of the brave‘, from Muslims who fought the Crusaders near Gaza." | "Attributed to the IDF fighters who fought in the city." | |
| Tzabar | צבר | Prickly pear
| Yellow-green | Al-Sabra | الصبرة | prickly pear | "Translation of Arabic name" | |
| Old City | העיר העתיקה (pron. Ha'ir ha'atiká) | Yellow | Old City (Al-Madīna Al-Qadīma) | البلدة القديمة | ||||
| Agala | עגלה | carriage, cart | Purple | Ash-Sheikh Ijlin | الشيخ عجلين | Not fully legible: "The historian Eusebius (…) IV will return that the (…) Arab is probably blind" | ||
| Tel El-Hawa | תל אל-הווא | Wind Hill | Red | Tel al-Hawa | تل الهوا | "Hill of the Wind" | "Translation of Arabic name" | |
| Shivat Tzion | שִׁיבָת צִיּוֹן | “Return to Zion” | Light grey | Az-Zeitoun | الزيتون | "Named after the local olive trees." | "Most of the Jewish community lived …(here)… until the riots of 1859, …(thus)… Shivat Zion." | |
| Shaarei ‘Aza | שערי עזה | “Gates of Gaza” | Green | At-Turukman | التركمان | "The Turkmens. Named after the Turkmen warriors who fought the crusaders at Gaza." | "According to tradition Samson died here at the Gates of Gaza." | |
In an interview outside the conference and in another the next day on i24NEWS,[35] director of Nachala and leader of Israeli West Bank settlers Daniella Weiss called for the further holdback of food deliveries and other humanitarian from the Gaza Strip so that the Palestinians there would leave or "want" to leave.[27] [36] [37]
Security minister Smotrich said, "we need to find a legal way to voluntary emigrate" Palestinians, before Shlomo Karhi clarified:[28]
“We have an obligation to act… to [bring about] voluntary emigration — even if this war… turns this voluntary migration into a situation of ‘Coerce him until he says, "I want to do so"’”
— Shlomo Karhi, Israeli Minister of Communications, 28 January 2024
The conference atmosphere was festive, carnival-like, and at times a rally, featured chanting of the phrase "Am Yisrael Chai", but also singing. Ben-Gvir and others were photographed dancing. The festivity during a war and around a topic involving the need to coerce Palestinians to a mass exodus from their country, which some characterize as a de facto call for ethnic cleansing, drew wide criticism.[30]
Family members of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza strongly criticized the conference both for its festive atmosphere, for the movement's forming a perceived impediment to the hostages' release, and for its calls for coerced emigration (i.e. ethnic cleansing) of Palestinians from their country, which one hostage mother compared to expulsions of Jews in Nazi-controlled Europe.
Gil Dikman, whose cousin Carmel Gat is held as hostage by Hamas, voiced his rancor at the Knesset, stating, "In the morning, you throw mud at each other, and in the evening, you dance at an event that only harms us. In Gaza, the hostages do not dance." One family member stated of the conferencegoers "you're dancing on their blood".[38]
At an Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption Committee meeting on Monday, Meirav Leshem-Gonen, mother of hostage Romi Gonen, said:[38]
"All this talk of transfer made me shudder. The transfer you talk about refers to ethnic and religious connections to a certain group. Isn't that what was done to us in Europe? We say we want to be better than this, but we are ready to do the same thing to another nation."— Meirav Leshem-Gonen, mother of hostage Romi Gonen at the Knesset, 30 January 2024
Alon Pinkas, former advisor to prime ministers Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres, wrote that the Resettlement Brings Security Conference marked a milestone:[29]
What you saw Sunday wasn't "Startup Nation" Israel. It wasn't "13 Nobel Prizes" Israel… It was not liberal-democratic Israel. What you saw was messianic ecstasy and religious fervor in a position of power… what you saw was not just the far-right elements… This is him. Unadulterated, unhinged Netanyahu, trying to distance himself far from the debacle of the October 7 massacre. This strain of religious-nationalistic Jewish supremacy has been normalized, legitimized, mainstreamed and encouraged by Netanyahu… What you saw was not merely a theocratic-fascist strain in Israeli society and politics but almost half of Mr. Netanyahu's coalition (27 lawmakers)…Pinkas further suggested that the extremism of the conference's theme and the implication that ultranationalist Orthodox idea is now empowered by the ruling coalition "maybe, just maybe" might force Israel to "decide" and its liberal-democratic majority to assert itself politically and change the direction of the government's actions concerning the war tactics, settlement policy, and approach to Israeli–Palestinian relations overall.[29]— Alon Pinkas, in his essay An Orgy of Jewish Supremacy and Antidemocratic Euphoria, Encouraged by Netanyahu, published in Ha'aretz, 29 January 2024
The United States, Israel's closest ally, has said that Gaza must be continue to be run by Palestinians after the war and that there must be serious moves towards establishing a Palestinian state.[39]
Canada's Global Affairs department issued a statement saying that "Canada rejects any proposal that calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and the establishment of additional settlements. Such inflammatory rhetoric undermines prospects for lasting peace."[40]
In Ramallah, Palestine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine[39] condemned the conference and the 11 cabinet ministers' participation, saying it "openly and publicly endorsed genocide, war crimes and the forcible transfer of the Palestinian people."[40]
On 29 February 2024 it was reported that dozens of far right activists broke through the Israeli military checkpoint at the Erez crossing between Northern Gaza and Israel, and entered Gaza with some entering hundreds of meters before being stopped by IDF troops.[41] Some of those that crossed the checkpoint set up for several hours makeshift buildings of wood and plastic inside Israeli territory beyond the walls of the Erez Crossing, without interference from Israeli police or IDF troops. The activists called the buildings a "settlement" and named it the New Nisanit, after the former Nisanit settlement of Gaza that was evacuated in 2005.[42] They were reportedly part of a group that had gathered at Sderot before forming a convoy to the Erez crossing to push for the rebuilding of Israeli settlements in Gaza, before breaking into Gazan territory.[43] Some of those stopped by Israeli police and IDF troops were detained with nine arrested for violating a military order and stopping a police officer from their duty. The settler organization Nachala celebrated the actions of those involved, and posted pictures of the buildings and activists, including them attaching a mezuzah to the building in a short religious ceremony, to social media.[44]
A member of the Israeli far-right "Return" movement told Anadolu Agency that 500 families had volunteered to reoccupy Gaza, claiming that Israel will only be safe after the establishment of "Jewish settlements and towns" in Gaza. When cautioned about the warnings from the international community about illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza, the member reportedly responded; "We are a sovereign state. This (Gaza) is our land....I don't understand. This is similar to demanding that Germany give part of its territory to another structure. Why would the US give part of Texas to Mexico?" Two eighteen-year-olds invoked religious descriptions when speaking about their entering and then removal from Gaza and participation in the attempted settling. One stated about feeling no fear in Gaza; "There was no fear of being inside [Gaza], the Holy One is with us and the IDF is here helping us...We came here [because] we wanted to go home. I live in a community of deportees from Gush Katif, and we wanted to go back." While the other alleged that "We have come to represent the entire public, the Jewish people. We want to return to the whole Land of Israel, to all parts of our Holy Land. There are no ‘two states for two peoples’ — that’s not right. The people of Israel belong to the Land of Israel."
It was reported in March 2024 that through WhatsApp groups and messages, informational sessions for the reestablishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza were held in private Israeli homes with Daniella Weiss promoting the settlement vision. Much of the information is similar to the resettlement conference that was held in January 2024. Weiss indicated to CNN reporters that about 500 families have already signed up to resettle through the Nachala organization, which is one of more than a dozen resettlement organizations.[45]
Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz wrote that ideas in the resettlement movement effectively equivalent to forced displacement, ethnic cleansing – such as Ben-Gvir urging Israel to create conditions such that Palestinians in Gaza would want to leave their country, and Shlomo Karhi stating that "'voluntary' [emigration] is at times a situation you impose until they give their consent".[46]
While the conference slogan was "settlement," what it was really about was transfer – this was stated explicitly and repeatedly on stage, in countless forms.— "The People of Israel Will Settle Gaza': Netanyahu's Ministers at Far-right Conference Endorse Expulsion of Palestinians", Ha-Aretz, 29 January 2023
In another article, Ha'aretz characterized the sometimes thinly veiled calls for forced displacement of Palestinians from their country "ethnic cleansing in God's name":[47]
The conference's message was clear – not just rebuilding the settlements, but ethnic cleansing in God's name.— "Ethnic Cleansing in God's Name: The Only Israelis With a Plan for the 'Day After' in Gaza", Ha-Aretz, 29 January 2023
Alleged "expulsions from homes and mass displacement" of Gaza Palestinians were cited in point 43(3) of the ICJ genocide case as supporting evidence that Israel is committing acts of genocide.[48] The application also mentions in item 101 Israeli security cabinet member and Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter (Likud) stating on November 11, 2023, "we are now rolling out the Gaza Nakba".[48] [49]
More generally, "crimes involving persecution… including those resulting in or intended to achieve the deportation or forcible transfer, directly or indirectly, of the Palestinian population, the re-populating of "cleansed" territories with Israeli settlers and the unlawful appropriation of Palestinian land and properties" may constitute crimes under the Rome Statute.[50]
Additional downsides of the resettlement of Gaza may include:
New settlements would require significant security resources, potentially diverting Israeli military forces from other tasks.
In addition to the specific support expressed by people and groups at the January 2024 conference, Israeli public opinion is divided on the issue of resettling Gaza.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said that it is not the government's policy or plan to resettle Gaza with Israeli Jews, however he is largely dependent on resettlement supporters for political support and according to the Atlantic, "Netanyahu might try to do it anyway".[14]
In November 2023 members of the Israeli Parliament, comprised mostly from the Likud party proposed repealing a law that prohibits Israeli citizens from entering Gaza, but has not moved forwards with the proposal. As 2023 came to an end, far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir stated "We must promote a solution to encourage the emigration of the residents of Gaza".[51] After Moshe Saada, a far-right Member of the Knesset (MK), claimed he had never before heard such calls saying it was obvious that all the Gazans need to be destroyed, the Washington Post claimed that "Israeli calls for ethnic cleansing are only getting louder."[52]
In January 2024, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that Israel will rule Gaza, and that in order to rule Gaza for the long term there must be an Israeli civilian presence. Zvi Sukkot, a member of the Knesset from the far-right Otzma Yehudit political party, stated that "we first need to occupy, to annex, to destroy all the houses there, build neighborhoods there" during a committee hearing.[53]
In a mid-November 2023 poll, a majority of Israelis support renewed Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip.[54] However a December 2023 Hebrew University poll found the opposite, that Israelis oppose resettling Gaza 56 to 33 percent.[14] In January 2024 a Haaretz polling expert and journalist, speaking to reporters stated that the public opinion on re-establishment of settlements in Gaza varies widely. She indicated that the general range is from about 25% to about 40% in support of establishing Jewish Israeli settlements in Gaza. A February 2024 poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 22.5% of Jewish Israeli supported resettling Gaza.[55]
Many settlers and their supporters have claimed that Israel Defense force members already in Gaza participating in the invasion of Gaza after the 7 October attacks would help their efforts at resettlement. Some soldiers in the IDF have posted videos in Gaza reportedly expressing their support for resettlement, with a IDF Rabbi recorded stating "It’s our country, all of it — Gaza too....The whole promised land."
In another recorded video IDF soldiers stands in front of a destroyed building in Gaza with rifles in hand. One of the men states that the soldiers are "...occupying, deporting, and settling. Occupying, deporting, and settling, Did you hear that Bibi? Occupying, deporting and settling." Photographs of Israeli soldiers holding Israeli flags and waving orange banners to symbolize the protesting of removal of settlers from Gaza, with phrases like "Coming home" and "Only settlement would be considered victory!" printed on them in Hebrew.
By late January 2024, hundreds of families had already formed settlement kernels for the proposed new settlements. At the January 2024 conference, dozens of families walked onto the stage carrying standards with the insignia of the proposed new settlements.[54] For many that were evacuated from Gaza in 2005 the desire to return to Gaza is strong. Other settler supporters ordered their children to break through military lines to play inside the buffer boarder near the barrier that separates Gaza and Israel, while about 100 others attempted in early February 2024 to cross into Gaza before being turned away. At the Gush Katif museum in Jerusalem, former settlers have printed bright orange shirts, with "Home, returning to Gush Katif" written on them.