'All of Gaza': How settlers plan to re-occupy enclave to avenge October 7

During an appearance on Israel's Channel 14 on November 6, the leader of the Nachala settlement movement, Daniella Weiss, emphatically laid Israel's claim on "all of Gaza".

"From the Euphrates River to the Nile River. We've just seen the Arabs leaving (their homes). We have to invade directly after the war. We can invade the northern borders immediately," she told the channel, widely known for its close association with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The assertion seems to back allegations that Israel's indiscriminate bombing and ground offensive in Gaza – that has turned the enclave into a rubble-strewn dystopian landscape – is aimed at driving out every single Palestinian.

Weiss even said the Israeli premier was not as brave as the settlers, though he was "very sympathetic" to the settlement movement.

Once seen to represent an extremist political agenda and even viewed as a "strategic danger" within the settlement movement, Weiss' categorical statement hints at an emerging reality – that such a radical view has become mainstream among settler groups since the Israeli war on Gaza began on October 7.

Following the unprecedented Hamas attack, internal political disputes have arisen both within the Israeli cabinet and among political factions. This discord, largely fueled by civil society pressure for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, could be indicative of an imminent reshaping of the Israeli political landscape.

Conversely, Israeli settler groups, deeply involved with the most right-wing government in Israel's history, have somehow distanced themselves from the prevailing political tumult.

They have, instead, fortified their settlement agenda in the occupied West Bank and Gaza in the aftermath of the war.

In this context, these movements are articulating their growing intention to accelerate the expansion of settlements in the West Bank while returning to Gaza following a "pause" initiated in 2005 after the Israeli withdrawal.

Significant blow to settlers

After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, the Jewish settler movement began amplifying its ambitions in the occupied areas through building settlements – acting as a leading force for the Israeli army in the occupation mechanism.

After the first Israeli settlement, Kfar Etzion was established in the occupied West Bank months after the 1967 war, hundreds of thousands of settlers invaded the areas that the Israeli army occupied. Yet, each of these settler groups also pursued different agendas and did not act monolithically.

"Historically, the Jewish settlement project in Gaza - that lasted between 1970 and 2005 - was secondary to the broad project of settling in the areas Israel occupied in 1967," says Ehud Eiran, an Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations at the University of Haifa.

"The region is far less significant than the West Bank. The latter is far more important religiously," he tells TRT World.

With the Israeli withdrawal from the territory in 2005, also known as the 'Disengagement Plan', twenty-one settlements were demolished. An estimated 8,000 Israeli settlers also withdrew from Gaza.

Eiran notes that the relatively few settlements in Gaza – compared to the higher numbers in the West Bank back then – enabled former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to receive political support despite a "significant blow" to the settler movement.

However, the withdrawal did not go down well with the far-right settler groups.

They saw Sharon as a betrayer to their cause, like they did when then-PM Menachem Begin agreed to hand back the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt and demolish settlements there after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza marked a breakthrough in the settler movement to the extent that they initiated violent disobedience against the Israeli state.

Additionally, the youth branches of far-right religious settler groups began carrying out "price tag" (tag mechir) attacks on Palestinian communities in response, killing hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Disengagement from the Disengagement

Following the war on Gaza, pro-settlement groups and far-right non-governmental organisations have increased their activities.

In a show of solidarity, Weiss' Nachala movement, the Sovereignty Movement (Ribonut), known for its agenda of supporting Israel's full control of Gaza, and Uri Israel, which advocates the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, addressed a joint conference in Ashdod on November 22.

In a fiery speech during the conference, Weiss called for mobilisation for resettling in Gaza, just like "the Hasmoneans established a settlement in Gaza over two thousand years ago", referring to the Jewish dynasty whose members established a kingdom in ancient Palestine, but dissolved after Roman occupation in 63 BCE.

In addition, a new organisation called the Headquarters for Settlements in Gaza (Chevel Aza) contributed to the event. This is the same group which made headlines by leaking an internal Israeli Intelligence Ministry document that proposes the transfer of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Among the organisers of the event, the Torat Lehima group, which promotes religious values within the Israeli army, is known for its strong ties to Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council who holds the position of Chief Rabbi of Safed. He is also the father of Amichai Eliyahu, the Israeli Heritage Minister.

The conference echoed the growing demands of the far-right for re-invading Gaza.

Yossi Dagan, a prominent figure on Israel's right-wing with strong connections to American Christian Evangelicals and as the leader of a settler community in the occupied West Bank, also expressed similar views on reverting to a pre-2005 era.

He emphasised the need to reconstruct settlements in Gaza, acknowledging, "It won't be possible in all parts of Gaza. However, in the northern part, yes. There should be a protective belt."

Yishai Fleischer, a well-known far-right media figure and an advisor to Israel's ultranationalist Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, said that Israel should not only re-occupy Gaza but to resettle there for "a full life there until the great mistake of the 2005 'Disengagement' eviction, where our own country kicked out Jewish citizens".

Far-right members of the Israeli cabinet have echoed and intensified these perspectives.

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who previously raised the controversial idea of considering a nuclear option in Gaza, has consistently advocated the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza following the conclusion of the ongoing war.

Amit Halevi, an MP from Netanyahu's Likud party, has taken the issue a step further by submitting a bill to amend the 2005 Disengagement Law, saying that the Knesset should "repeal the law that bars Jews from entering Gaza".

These radical views are getting increasing support from Israeli citizens.

According to a survey conducted by Channel 12 in mid-November, 32 percent of Israelis express support for the continuation of Israeli occupation and renewal of Jewish settlements.

Additionally, 14 percent preferred maintaining a permanent military presence in the relevant areas.

An Israeli real estate company even released an advertisement for building seafront homes in Gaza. "A house on the beach is not a dream," reads a social media post from the company notorious for building in the occupied West Bank.

Ferit Belder, an assistant professor from Marmara University, says that far-right political factions are pointing to the removal of settlements as the reason for Israel's wars with Gaza since 2008. Hence, they see the settlements in Gaza "not only as an ideological but also a military necessity".

"We have already seen that the early (post-1967) Jewish settlements were military settlements established against Jordan (which lost control of the West Bank) and later turned into civilian settlements.

In this respect, they establish a link between settlements and national security," Belder notes.

Nevertheless, Eiran highlights another aspect of such intentions of the settler groups. "The call to bring the settlers back is not about Gaza, but about the status of the religious settler movement," he says.

"I think the chances for the renewal of the settlement project there are very small. Israel generally would rather not stay in the region (militarily), and so leaving settlers there will not allow us to disengage."

Growing attacks in West Bank

Since the events of October 7, illegal settlers have increased their attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, abusing and vandalising their property more violently than ever, with the aim of changing the status quo in the territory.

Under the protection of the Israeli army, the settlers have killed at least nine Palestinians since October 7 alone. It is a sharp increase from the yearly numbers of 2022 (three killed), 2021 (five), and 2019 (two).

More than 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, the majority of which were built either entirely or partially on private Palestinian land.

In clear signs of the government's support to settler groups, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the Psagot settlement near Ramallah on December 17.

Smotrich, also a leader of pro-settler groups, said: "Judea and Samaria is the security belt of the state," using the term used in Israel to refer to the West Bank.

"Kfar Saba will not be Kfar Aza," he added, referring to the kibbutz Kfar Aza that was targeted during Hamas's cross-border attack on October 7.

Shlomo Karhi, Israeli Communications Minister, also revealed the governmental support for this plan. "We really want to reach the annexation of Judea and Samaria and the application of sovereignty over the West Bank. How will we do that? It is still unclear," he told Channel 14 on December 10.

Israel's far-right Security Minister, Ben Gvir, who is also from a settler background, contributed to the settler groups' agenda through his extremist policies.

Ben Gvir has pushed to loosen firearm licensing requirements and create more civilian "standby teams" to protect settlements. According to Haaretz Daily, the Ministry has approved over 50,000 personal firearm licences since the outbreak of the war.

For Belder, Ben Gvir has cultivated a discourse that securitises settlers with his practice of arming individuals.

"While this scenario reflects a tangible reality wherein far-right settler factions are asserting influence, in the post-war Israeli political landscape, far-right parties might face opposition pushback if they fail to secure a position of authority," Belder says.

On the other hand, he noted that the security of settlements in the occupied West Bank has become a significant financial burden for Israel.

"Some pacifist groups attribute the shift in Israeli security priorities towards settlers as a contributing factor to the failure in preventing the Hamas attack. Consequently, they argue that the emphasis on settlement security has created a vulnerability in national security."