The conference, which was held close to the Gaza border, attracted numerous prominent parliamentarians, including from Netanyahu’s Likud party.

Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, the strip resettlement movement has crept from the extreme fringes of Israeli society into political discourse among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition partners.

Netanyahu has publicly dismissed the idea of Jewish settlements in Gaza. The military forcibly evacuated Jewish settlements from Gaza in 2005, a move that bred resentment towards the state among many of the settlers who now seek to return.

The rising sentiment for the return of settlements is part of a logic adopted by radical right-wing and ultranationalist Israelis who claim that the only security from another potential attack from Gaza on Israel is through reestablishing Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. 

Israeli right-wing activists attend a gathering near the border with Gaza on October 21, 2024. AFP

After one year of genocidal war on the besieged Gaza strip that has killed more than 42,603 civilians, mostly women and children, this logic is now gaining popularity in Israel and is being spearheaded by members of Netanyahu's cabinet, including Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. 

*This story has been edited by Ahram Online.