'The land of Israel belongs only to the people of Israel... There is no such thing as a Palestinian people,' says member of far-right party
Extremist illegal Israeli settlers and right-wing politicians are not only demanding the continued mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza but also dream of conquering much of the surrounding region to establish a "Greater Israel."
As the Israeli military tightens its grip on the Gaza Strip, driving Palestinians from their homes, in the settlement of Be'eri, located just five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the Gaza border, fanatical Israelis have gathered to set up sukkah huts, a Jewish holiday tradition, on land seized from Palestinians. The event was promoted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party under the banner of a "Gaza resettlement plan."
Attendees included not only fringe groups but also high-profile figures such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Likud member Osher Shekalim and Zvi Sukkot from the Jewish Power party. The founder and leader of the Lehava organization, Ben Zion Gopstein, who is on a US sanctions list for threatening or using violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, was also seen collecting cash donations at the event.
- 'No such thing as a Palestinian people'
Many of the extremist Israelis were armed, and entire families arrived to erect the sukkah huts while the sound of artillery fire from the ongoing attacks on Gaza could be heard in the background.
The participants said Israeli settlements should be re-established in Gaza and that Palestinians should be expelled to other countries.
Shekalim told Anadolu that "the land of Israel belongs only to the people of Israel" and "there is no such thing as a Palestinian people."
Dismissing international criticism of the humanitarian disaster caused by Israel's attacks on Gaza as "lies," he insisted that the Israeli military is "the most humane army,” adding "I hope the Palestinians disappear. There was never a Palestinian people anyway."
Asked about the boundaries of a "Greater Israel," Shekalim said Israel's rightful lands extend beyond the current borders of Israel and Jordan.
"Today, the West Bank, Golan and Gaza are all part of Israel," he added.
- Palestinians 'lost the right to be in Gaza'
Daniella Weiss, the founder of Nachala, an Israeli settler organization which advocates for the seizure of Palestinian land in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as well as Gaza, declared that Palestinians "lost the right to be in Gaza" on Oct. 7 last year.
She said the group is now actively encouraging Palestinians to leave Gaza for other countries, even offering financial incentives.
Weiss presented a map depicting plans for Israeli settlements in Gaza, claiming that Palestinians will "under no circumstances" remain there.
She boasted of the group's political and public support, drawing on their experience of establishing settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights over the past 55 years.
Weiss said 700 families are already interested in living in the new settlements in Gaza.
"In less than a year, you will witness the entry of Jews into Gaza and the departure of Arabs from Gaza. They have lost their right to be in this holy place," she said.
Asked about the boundaries of a "Greater Israel," Weiss said it would extend "from the Euphrates to the Nile," arguing that “these are the promised lands...When will this happen? The sooner, the better."
Israeli media reports also said that Ben-Gvir, who joined the event later, expressed support for continued settlement expansion in Gaza.
Israel's brutal war on the enclave has killed more than 42,600 people, mostly women and children, and injured 99,800 others since last October following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas.
The war has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
