Israel leaders make steps toward return of Jewish settlements to Gaza

Leaders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing Likud Party are set to hold a controversial conference next week aimed at promoting the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.

Despite Netanyahu's previous denials of returning to Gaza settlements, key ministers and lawmakers from the right-wing party are backing the initiative.

The event, scheduled for next Monday near the Gaza border, carries the Likud Party's slogan along with the 'Gaza is Ours, Forever' message and is centered on preparing for settlement efforts in the territory under the title 'Preparing to Resettle Gaza', which Israel evacuated in 2005.

Among the key organisers is Social Equality Minister May Golan as well as the Nachala movement, known for establishing illegal outposts in the occupied Wes Bank.

The Nachala extremist group stated that "the event is not just a theoretical conference, but a practical exercise and preparation for renewed settlement in Gaza."

The group 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, far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Amichai Eliyahu, and Yitzhak Wasserlauf are also expected to attend.

MKs Tally Gotliv, Osher Shkalim, and Hanoch Milwidsky confirmed to Haaretz they will attend the event, while six other Likud MKs are expected to take part.

In January, hundreds of Israeli settlers convened in Jerusalem calling for the building of settlements in Gaza and the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

The conference at the time, titled 'Settlement Brings Security' was also organised by the Nachala group and backed by Israel's hard-right ministers.

Videos from the conference showed a huge crowd erupting in provocative chants calling for the building of Jewish settlements in Gaza, a move deemed illegal under international law.

Israel withdrew its military and settlers from Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation that was followed by a siege on the heavily populated strip in 2007.

Since October last year, Israel's war on the enclave has killed over 42,000 people - most of whom were civilians - and destroyed much of the enclave.