– Would you like coffee or tea, Weiss asks as she shows news around the house, which is idyllically situated on a small hill, with a cozy garden around it. – This is where I usually gather my family every Sabbath, says the 76-year-old, pointing to a large dining table with 16 chairs around it. – I have four daughters who have children and grandchildren, so I am a great-grandmother now, says Weiss proudly. PIONEERS: Daniella Weiss and her husband moved to the occupied West Bank in the early 1970s. Photo: Ksenia Novikova From villa to tent She was among the first settlers to settle on the occupied West Bank. Weiss exchanged a comfortable life in the big city of Tel Aviv, and moved into a tented camp on a desolate ridge. – My husband, I and our two daughters moved into a small tent in the 1970s. We had neither water nor electricity, Weiss recalls. BEFORE AND NOW: The illegal settlements often begin as tent camps. Over time, they were developed into small towns with thousands of Jewish settlers living on occupied land. Photo: Scanpix/private Settlers are Jews who live outside Israel’s recognized borders, on the Palestinian side. The UN believes that a Palestinian state should be established in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. But ever since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, Israeli authorities have expanded the settlements. To major protests from the UN and human rights organisations. Even the United States has repeatedly criticized Israel’s settlement policy. – We strongly condemn the expansion of the settlements that prevent the establishment of a coherent Palestinian state, said the US ambassador to the UN in a speech to the Security Council in November last year. Protected by soldiers Kedumim, where Weiss lives today, has gone from being a small tent camp to becoming a large local community. Thousands of settlers live here in everything from small sheds and barracks to beautiful detached houses with views of Palestinian villages on all sides. – There was nothing here when we arrived. It was the settlers who made this a peaceful oasis, says Weiss. IDYL: Daniella Weiss sweeps leaves in the idyllic little garden in the illegal settlement of Kedumim, where she has lived for almost fifty years. Photo: Ksenia Novikova The peaceful oasis of Weiss is looked after by Israeli soldiers. They guard all the entrances. Many of the settlers walk the streets armed. – How can you say that it is peaceful here when most of the people who live here carry weapons to protect themselves, and soldiers have to look after you? – We feel safe here. This is home for us. I wouldn’t trade my life here for anywhere else. Tempted with benefits The number of settlers has risen steadily. In 2004, the number was 370,000. Today, 10 years later, it has doubled to around 700,000. They live in around 300 settlements in the occupied West Bank and in East Jerusalem. The expansion of the settlements is contrary to international law. Nevertheless, many Jews want to move here. ARMED: Settlers gathered for a demonstration on the occupied West Bank. Many of them are armed. Photo: Scanpix / AP The renowned Israeli researcher and author Dahlia Scheindlin explains why: – The state encourages the settlers by giving them economic benefits such as lower taxes, promises of affordable housing, state-of-the-art roads and infrastructure, and full protection from the Israeli army, says Scheindlin . Religious settlers like Daniella Weiss, on the other hand, are not drawn here by financial incentives. They see the expansion of the illegal settlements as a call from God. – For me, it goes back to the Bible. It is a religious duty to take over Judea and Samaria, which are some of the holiest places for Jews, says Weiss. Want to take over the Middle East Settlers use the biblical name for the West Bank, Judea and Samaria. For them, Jewish history began here. Therefore, according to Weiss and her colleagues, Jews have a religious right to these areas. – I will never forget that we were driven from our homeland 2,000 years ago. We were forced to flee, says the resident leader. RUINS: Daniella Weiss and ministers in the Israeli government say that Jewish settlers should take over Gaza and that Palestinians must be expelled. Photo: Scanpix / Reuters – Do you think it is fair that Palestinians, who have lived here for centuries, have to move from here, while Jewish settlers from, for example, Ukraine, Denmark and the USA can settle here? – I do not agree that Palestinians have roots here. They are a fictional nation. They are Arabs who came here from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. Weiss currently leads one of Israel’s most active settler movements, Nachala, Hjemland. The “homeland” Weiss dreams of is much bigger than today’s Israel. – The promise from God was from the Euphrates river all the way to the Nile in Egypt. – So your dream is an Israel that stretches from Iraq, via Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and all the way to Egypt? – Yes, Weiss replies matter-of-factly. WEISS’ DREAM: The settler leader dreams of a Greater Israel that extends over the entire area marked in red on the map. Photo: news – We are a big nation. Why should we settle for a small country, she asks. Weiss admits that the plan for Eretz Israel, or the Holy Land, is a long-term one. In the first instance, she and her conspirators plan to take over the bombed-out Gaza Strip. CONTROVERSIAL: Daniella Weiss says that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have nothing to do there, and that the world must accept them so that the area can become part of Israel. Photo: Ksenia Novikova – If I pick up the phone now, I can promise you that hundreds of Jewish families will be ready to move to the Gaza Strip right away, Weiss says, waving her mobile phone. – Where will the 2.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip go? – They can go to other countries in the world. They have no right to be there, Weiss asserts. We ask how she feels when she sees the images coming from war-torn Gaza, where at least 23,357 people have been killed since October 7, according to Palestinian health officials. – I feel nothing when I see the pictures from Gaza. I turn it off. My eyes are already full. My mind and heart are filled with the suffering of my people. Criticized for displacement plans Weiss is seen as a political extremist in Israel. But there are still many who agree with her – right up to the Israeli government. DIFFERENCES: Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich are some of the most extreme politicians in Israel. They agree with much of what Daniella Weiss says. Photo: Scanpix / AFP The Israeli Ministry of Intelligence has made theoretical plans on how Gaza’s population can be moved to the Sinai desert in Egypt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has tried to persuade EU countries to get Egypt to agree to such a plan. Israel’s acting Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are themselves settlers, recently received international criticism for advocating the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. Increasing settler violence In recent years, violence on the occupied West Bank has exploded. At least 450 Palestinians were killed by settlers and Israeli forces last year, according to the UN. Armed Palestinians killed at least 28 Israelis in the same period. WAVE OF VIOLENCE: At least 450 Palestinians have been killed in 2023 in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN. Photo: Scanpix / AFP Even Israel’s powerful internal security service, Shin Bet, is concerned about the growing settlement violence in the West Bank. Daniella Weiss takes the criticism against the settlers with crushing calm. She says that her movement is working purposefully to take over as much land as possible. – If someone wants to fight, we will fight like in Gaza. Those who do not accept Israeli sovereignty must leave. – So there will be no independent Palestinian state here? – There will never, never, never be a Palestinian state in Israel, apart from the Jewish state.
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Settlement leader Daniella Weiss says she doesn’t feel anything when she sees pictures from Gaza – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
