Several members of the Israeli government have joined a far-right conference calling for resettlement in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank.
The conference, organized by the right-wing group Nahara on Sunday night, was titled “Settlements Bring Security and Victory” and called for new Jewish settlements to be built in the Palestinian territories. The call by politicians and activists gathered in occupied East Jerusalem comes amid international pressure on Israel to confirm that it will respect Palestinian statehood after the end of the Gaza war.
Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 after 38 years of occupation. Debate continues over who will run the enclave after the end of the war that began after Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had no intention of maintaining a permanent presence again, but insisted that Israel would maintain security control indefinitely.
Israel's international partners, led by the United States, have said a two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the security of both sides. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces enormous political pressure and is resisting, although his government has not laid out a clear plan for what its future will look like.
“There is no safety without resettlement.”
Israel's Channel 12 reported that 12 ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party attended the meeting. His coalition partners, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, renewed their calls for Palestinians to be removed from Gaza.
Smotrich said many of the displaced children have returned as soldiers to fight in the war against Hamas. He said he had opposed government decisions in the past to evict Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip.
“We knew what that would lead to, so we tried to stop it,” Smotrich said in a speech. “Without reconciliation, there is no security.”
The crowd chanted enthusiastically calling for the settlement to be rebuilt.
Ben Gvir said he protested the evacuation of Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip, warning that it would result in “rockets for Sderot” and “rockets for Ashkelon” in southern Israel.
“We shouted and warned,” Ben Gvir said. “if [we] I don't want another October 7th to come, we need to go home and rule the land. ”
“There's no way to win that war without rebuilding.”[ing] Gash Qatif and the Gaza Strip. It should thrive alongside Jewish villages and Jewish cities,” former Congressman Moshe Feiglin said at the conference.
“That's the only way to win this bloody war. And Israel cannot afford not to win that war,” he added.
Some Israeli politicians condemned the meeting and the participation of government ministers.
Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief of staff and now a member of the Knesset and Netanyahu's war cabinet, said that at a time when Israeli soldiers are “fighting shoulder to shoulder, this meeting will further divide us over what unites us.” “It will make it more radical,” he said. A war with unparalleled legitimacy. ”
Education Minister Yoav Kish told Israel Army Radio that the timing of the meeting was off. “It's not appropriate to enter into this conversation right now,” he said. “We need to focus the discussion on military unity.”
'Ethnic cleansing'
Jewish settlements throughout the occupied West Bank are classified as illegal by international law and humanitarian organizations. They are also often a source of conflict between armed settlers and Palestinians.
Human rights groups and many governments frequently condemn armed settler violence targeting Palestinians.
Israel's expansionist settlement policy also impedes the anticipated future of a two-state solution.
Mariam Barghouti, a Palestinian-American activist and researcher, said in an interview with Al Jazeera, “The meeting included 12 Israeli ministers, including members of Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party, and 15 members of the Israeli parliament. So it's not a joke,” he said. .
“These are the people who are making the policies in Israel, and they are the people who were calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, the complete ethnic cleansing of the people of Gaza.”
The Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the conference, saying it reflected Israeli rights trends that destabilized the region.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement: “The colonial conference in Jerusalem is a blatant challenge to the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and involves public incitement to force the removal of Palestinians.” he said, referring to last week's ICJ ruling. He called on Israel to stop the “genocide” in Gaza.
arab countries meet
US news website Axios reported on Monday that national security officials from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the PA met secretly in Riyadh to discuss post-war Gaza, citing anonymous sources.
The meeting apparently called on the PA to revitalize its political leadership in Gaza, which is currently ruled by Hamas. The gathering, to which Israel and the United States were said to have been briefed, shows growing support among Arab states for a solution centered on the relatively moderate PA taking control after the post-war transition period.
Saudi Arabia's national security adviser said at the meeting that Saudi Arabia remains interested in normalizing relations with Israel, even if a Palestinian state is not immediately established, in exchange for steps that pave the way for a Palestinian state. He said there is.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, destroyed vast swaths of the enclave and displaced nearly 85% of the territory's population, local health officials say.
According to Israel, the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel killed about 1,140 people and captured about 250 prisoners. About 100 of them were returned in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in an agreement with Hamas last November.