– Gaza is the property of our ancestors since time immemorial, we will not rest until we have inhabited the area again. That’s what Limor Son Har Melech in the Israeli national assembly Knesset wrote on X, according to Al Jazeera. He is one of several politicians who have advertised for a settler conference in Israel. Likud, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s party, has also done so. They have invited to an event they call “Preparing to settle Gaza”, writes Haaretz. According to several media, the conference starts next week. One of the items on the program is a tour to see parts of Gaza, writes Al Jazeera. – A practical exercise on resettlement – This is not just a theoretical conference, but a practical exercise and preparation for renewed resettlement in Gaza, the settler organization Nachala has said according to Haaretz. It is expected that several top politicians will participate, among others: Minister of Security Itamar Ben-Gvir Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich Minister of Cultural Heritage Amihai Eliyahu Minister of Security Itamar Ben-Gvir is among the ministers going to the conference. Here he is pictured at a nationalist demonstration station in Jerusalem this summer. Photo: MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP Several other members of the National Assembly have confirmed to the newspaper that they will participate. This is happening despite the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said several times that Israel has no goal of settling Gaza. The government disagrees In other words, there is great disagreement in the government as to whether Israel should settle Gaza or not. Because even if the prime minister is against it, the far-right cooperation party Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionist Party are in favor. There are probably more people in Netanyahu’s Likud party who are also open to settling Gaza, believes Hilde Henriksen Waage, senior researcher at the Institute for Peace Research. Hilde Henriksen Waage has been researching the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for many years. Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes / news – The problem for the rest of the government is that they have no plan for what to do with Gaza when the war is over. These parties then use this opportunity to push and get their solutions through. The senior researcher says residents don’t just sit quietly in the boat. – They are active all the time to push the boundaries of what they can get the rest of the government to do. Therefore, Waage believes that the conference can have a lot to say for government cooperation. – This is what the Likud party has to give in order to still have the party of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir in government. They constantly threaten to break out, if they do not get to fulfill their goals with the war. This is an eternal negotiation game, says Waage. Second conference this year Professor Tamer Qarmout at the Doha Institute believes there is reason to worry about whether the Israeli government will facilitate settlements in the Gaza Strip. – When politicians speak, we must take them seriously. These statements have come from two important members of the government. The fact that it has not happened so far, while the war is still going on in Gaza, does not mean that it cannot happen in the future when Israel has gained military control and forcibly relocated Palestinians, he says to news. He thinks Netanyahu, in order to satisfy the far-right members of the government, can agree to some settlements. For example, in the north of Gaza, the area where Israel says it is trying to establish a buffer zone. – Everything that comes from the government must be taken seriously. It’s not a rumor – it’s official statements. The residents of Israel dream of a “Greater Israel” in the Middle East, here marked in red. Photo: news It is not the first time such a conference has taken place. In January, twelve ministers from the Israeli government appeared at a corresponding conference, writes Al Jazeera. – Without housing, there is no security, said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a speech. Israeli settlers in Gaza in 2005, shortly before the settlements were evacuated the same year. Photo: BAZ RATNER / AP The event met with criticism at the same time, both from colleagues in the government and from the Palestinian Authority. – The colonist meeting in Jerusalem is a clear challenge to the international court’s decision, and a public call to forcibly relocate Palestinians, they said in a statement in connection with the previous conference. From the 1970s to 2005, there were several settlements in the Gaza Strip. They were shut down by the then Israeli government in 2005, and the residents were evacuated from Gaza. Published 21.10.2024, at 13.15
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Top Israeli politicians will participate in settlement conference – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
