Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, declared during a pro-settlement march near the Gaza border that the territory belongs to Israel and called for the resumption of Jewish settlement construction in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at the rally on Sunday, 19 July, Ben-Gvir said, “Gaza is ours.” He also shared a video of his speech on X, claiming that Israel now controls 70 percent of the Gaza Strip.
The march took place in southern Israel near the Gaza border. According to Al Jazeera, around 10,000 people attended the demonstration, calling for the return of Jewish settlers to Gaza.
Chanting, “Returning home after 21 years,” participants urged the Israeli government to restart settlement construction in the Gaza Strip. They also called for the establishment of Jewish settlements in the territory similar to those in the occupied West Bank.
The organizers of the march, along with the right-wing party to which Ben-Gvir belongs, are advocating the revival of a policy that ended in 2005. That year, under Israel’s disengagement plan from Gaza, the country evacuated its settlements in the territory, bringing the presence of Jewish settlers there to an end.
Ben-Gvir’s remarks and the renewed calls for settlement construction in Gaza come amid ongoing controversy over the issue, which remains one of the most contentious aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proposal is strongly opposed by Palestinians and by much of the international community.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
