Israelis ramp up efforts to establish Gaza settlements
Dozens of Israelis from a far-right settlement group broke into the Gaza Strip and raised an Israeli flag, before being prevented from progressing further into the enclave, according to the Middle East Eye and agencies on December 18th.
The Israelis involved in breaching the border were affiliated with the Nachala Movement, an organisation led by far-right settler Daniella Weiss, who is a vocal advocate of Israeli settlement expansion.
Nachala described the break-in as an event titled “Raising the flag in Gaza”, with Weiss stating: “It is precisely in these days [of Hannukkah] that we need to say in a clear voice ‘Gaza belongs to the people of Israel’, and we must start settling there right now.”
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which began on December 14th, has also been used by Israeli troops in occupied Syria to highlight Israel’s presence in the occupied territories, where at least 700,000 Jewish settlers reside in illegal outposts.
It was reported on December 11th that Israeli settlers had breached the northern Gaza border in an effort to seize land in the Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun areas.
Settlement outposts had previously been established in northern Gaza, but were dismantled as part of the 2005 settler “disengagement” plan under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Nachala has called for Gaza to be populated with 1.2 million Jews, who would live in some 300,000 housing units constructed mainly in the northern and southern parts of Gaza.
Under this plan, Jewish inhabitants of Gaza would benefit from the construction of green spaces, transportation, industrial zones, hotels, universities, and a port.
The group’s plan states that “The right of the people of Israel to the Gaza Strip is the same as to Jerusalem, Hebron and Tel Aviv.”
This plan likely implies the depopulation of Gaza’s inhabitants; Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has already killed more than 70,000 people since October 2023.
Middle East Eye and agencies, Al Jazeera and agencies, Maghrebi.org
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