'Every border lasts until the next war': Israel’s settlers gather to ‘raise flag' in Gaza Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Fri, 12/19/2025 - 13:21 Settler groups say the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza is just a 'matter of time', as they pressure their leaders to hurry the Israeli settlement of the besieged territory sraeli settlers light candles for Hanukkah on a hill overlooking the Gaza Strip in Sderot in southern Israel on 18 December (AFP/Ilia Yefimovich) Off Settlers from the Nachala organisation gathered near Israel’s border with Gaza on Thursday for an event titled "Raising the Flag in Gaza". As the name suggests, their aim is to establish Jewish settlements in the besieged territory, which has been razed to the ground by the Israeli army in over two years of bombing. The event took place at the Sderot lookout point, a site overlooking the Gaza Strip from the southern Israeli city of Sderot. The road leading to the lookout has become a popular tourist destination for Israelis wishing to watch in real time the destruction wrought by the Israeli army in Gaza. When climbing to the lookout and looking toward northern Gaza, no houses can be seen on the horizon, only the sunset on another cold evening. Everything has been systematically flattened by the Israeli army during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The several hundred people gathered for the event are mostly religious. Organisers from Nachala distributed sufganiyah, the traditional Hanukkah pastry, while supporters poured in on buses from settlements in the occupied West Bank and from inside Israel. The exception were a few left-wing activists from the Standing Together movement, who stormed the stage wearing shirts reading "We are not returning to Gaza" - a break in the uniformity of the scene, which did little to dampen the overall mood. ‘Gaza must be Jewish’ When the event began, one organiser said that the “sacrifice” of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza would not be in vain. "Gaza is part of our ancestral inheritance, and we have returned to it in order to stay there forever. "Gaza will be settled by Jews. Gaza is ours," the organiser added. Arnon Segal, a settler from occupied East Jerusalem, arrived in Sderot with his children "because we appreciate the sense of direction coming from here, that Gaza needs to be Jewish". Segal told Middle East Eye that the beginning of Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank 50 years ago "seemed like a delusional dream", adding that "we were already in Gaza, it’s a matter of decision". Sderot is a tourist attraction for Israelis who want to view the destruction in Gaza (AFP/Jalaa Marey) "The future belongs to the dreamers,” Segal said, expressing his hope that Jewish settlement would be re-established soon. He was optimistic, he said, because today “there is enough devoted youth" that can settle Gaza. "Eventually the right political echelon will come along and say yes to this demand. "In the end, those who are willing to sacrifice are the ones who determine the reality on the ground." ‘Ancestral inheritance’ The organisers wanted to breach the border into Gaza and raise a flag at the site where the settlement of Nisanit once stood, north of Gaza City, but were unable to do so after approval from Defence Minister Israel Katz was not granted. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz faced pressure to approve the flag-raising in Nisanit even from within their own Likud party. Israeli settlers who breached Syria border returned by military Read More » In a letter addressed to the defence minister and signed by senior Likud ministers, it was stated that other nations are trying to take "control over the Gaza Strip". "The time has come to say proudly: Gaza is part of the Land of Israel, [and it] belongs exclusively to the people of Israel." This week, the Likud sent out an invitation to the settler event in Sderot, signed by ministers and Knesset members from the party. Sent during the Hanukkah holiday, the invitation read : “We will raise the Israeli flag together and declare – we will not abandon our security to others – Gaza is ours forever!” Despite this backing, only one Likud MP was in attendance in Sderot, Osher Shekalim. Besides Shekalim, MP Limor Son Har-Melech from the Otzma Yehudit party and Settlement Minister Orit Strook from the Religious Zionism party also attended. For some of those present, the event was meant to send a message to the Israeli government and the public. 'An international border is not sacred. Every international border lasts until the next war' - Yehoshua Sokol, settler Yehoshua Sokol, a settler from Karnei Shomron in the occupied West Bank, told MEE that he came because "Gaza is our ancestral inheritance and we need to be there." Sokol, who arrived wearing a shirt calling for settlement in Lebanon, said that "Lebanon is also our ancestral inheritance," adding that "up to the Litani River is Israeli territory". "We want to send a message to the Israeli government and even more so to the Israeli people, that Gaza is our ancestral inheritance. This is not a security issue." "Too many people in the Israeli public have become accustomed to the idea that there are international agreements," Sokol said, adding that "an international border is not sacred. Every international border lasts until the next war." Storming Gaza Although no incursion into Gaza took place from Sderot, dozens of settlers breached the fence and entered Gaza at two points along the border, raising flags, according to a report in Haaretz . None of those who stormed the enclave in central and southern Gaza were arrested by the army, according to the report. Footage of the flag-raising was published on social media. Daniella Weiss, Israel’s ‘settler godmother’, has a hotline to Netanyahu - and plans for Gaza Read More » "Everyone who is here is compromising, because everyone here wants to be inside Gaza, raising a flag and building a home," declared Daniella Weiss, head of Nachala. "Today we were privileged to raise the Israeli flag in several places. Not only soldiers, but also civilians, women and children." Weiss said that raising the Israeli flag in Gaza was "an expression of the desire to be independent and not accept dictates from the nations of the world". She continued with criticism of international intervention in Gaza following the agreement between Israel and Hamas brokered by the US . "Gaza is not Trump’s Riviera, it is not America’s Riviera, it is the Riviera of the people of Israel." Now, Israel is facing a new era, according to Weiss. "An era in which we will return to Gaza. Not Indonesians, not Turks, not Egyptians, no other country, only the people of Israel will rule Gaza." 'Not Indonesians, not Turks, not Egyptians, no other country, only the people of Israel will rule Gaza' - Daniela Weiss, settler leader Weiss’s criticism comes amid growing unease on the Israeli right over the agreement between Israel and Hamas, which has raised fears in Israel of direct Turkish and Qatari influence in Gaza. Similar criticism was voiced by Sokol, who told MEE that US President Donald Trump is "a smart man," but that "all decisions must be ours". "The nations of the world," said a Nachala activist on the loudspeaker, "are demanding that we leave the part we conquered in the Gaza Strip within a month or two. "Under no circumstances must this be allowed to happen," he said, adding, "We need to settle there now." The Israeli government must cause the migration of Gaza’s residents, he said, adding that "unfortunately the government is currently unable to stand up to international pressure and allow us to do this." Expelling Palestinians from Gaza Also on the agenda was the fate of Palestinian residents of Gaza who face the ongoing threat of ethnic cleansing to make way for Israeli settlements. "Look, this will happen," said MP Son Har-Melech. "We will return and settle Gaza." Son Har-Melech went on to speak about the "voluntary migration" of Palestinians, an Israeli euphemism for the expulsion of Palestinians from their land. According to Son Har-Melech, Palestinians can be made to leave. "You just need to want it. When I say, ‘voluntary migration’, the will only needs to be ours." Jewish communities must confront their complicity in Israel's genocide Read More » Last July, Son Har-Melech organised a conference at the Knesset that called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and presented detailed plans for Jewish settlement there. Among some of those attending the event, there was agreement on the need to expel Palestinians from Gaza. Segal told MEE that in the West Bank, as in Gaza, "the solution is their [the Palestinians] voluntary migration. In the end, we want to establish a Jewish state here. "As for the Arabs of Gaza,” Segal added, "I have no conscience after what they did to us. I think they should go, and they will eventually go." The history of the Second World War taught Sokol that "the aggressor pays. He pays in agony, and he pays in territory. "It’s all a matter of will," Sokol told MEE regarding the possibility of Jewish settlement in Gaza, adding that it is possible "to remove 1.5 million Arabs from Gaza." Even though Palestinians still live in Gaza, "that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to settle the areas that have already been liberated," Sokol told MEE, referring to areas of the Gaza Strip under Israeli army control. "It’s a decision of the Israeli government, nothing more," Sokol said. Israel's genocide in Gaza Sderot, Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0