Netanyahu's Likud Party Issues Invitation to Event Titled 'Preparing to Settle Gaza'
The event, scheduled for next week, is part of an initiative by the Nachala movement, which is known for establishing illegal outposts in the West Bank. Several ministers and MKs from Likud and Otzma Yehudit are expected to attend
Israeli right wing activists arrive at a gathering to call to establish Israeli settlements in Gaza, near the border with the Gaza Strip, in August.Credit: AFP
An invitation from Likud, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party, to an event near the Gaza border has been circulated under the title "Preparing to Settle Gaza."
The event, scheduled for next week, will feature the construction of a sukkah as part of a "city of sukkahs" initiative by the Nachala movement, which is known for establishing illegal outposts in the West Bank.
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Social Equality Minister May Golan, along with MKs Tally Gotliv, Osher Shkalim and Hanoch Milwidsky, confirmed to Haaretz that they will attend the event. The invitation also mentions that six other Likud MKs are expected to participate.
The Nachala movement stated that "the event is not just a theoretical conference, but a practical exercise and preparation for renewed settlement in Gaza." The movement added that "the return to settlement in Gaza is no longer just an idea but a process that is already in advanced stages, with government and public support."
According to the movement's announcement, ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Amichai Eliyahu, and Yitzhak Wasserlauf are also expected to attend the event.
The event is slated to include a tour of Kibbutz Nirim, but the kibbutz issued a statement saying, "No tour was coordinated with Nirim. The security coordinator has not been contacted, and we do not agree to this, so it will not take place."
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip in March.Credit: IDF/Reuters
The kibbutz added, "We are still waiting for the government and coalition members to take responsibility for the catastrophic failures of October 7 and for the deep wound still in our hearts. Instead of holding political events aimed at establishing settlements, the government should focus on bringing home the 101 hostages and supporting the reconstruction of Gaza border communities."
Invitation to the Likud Party's Sukkah
Throughout the war, Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that Israel has no intention of establishing settlements in Gaza. He reiterated this in his speech to the U.S. Congress in late July.
In June, during an interview on Channel 14, Netanyahu rejected a proposal from host Yinon Magal to settle Gaza and "exact a price from Hamas," stating, "It may be that many think this way, but I do not believe it is realistic or serves the goals of the war."
In a May interview with CNN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the reestablishment of settlements in Gaza was "never in the cards."
"I said so openly [and] some of my constituents are not happy about it, but that's my position," Netanyahu said.
