Arabs will disappear The rightwing settlers who are eyeing Gaza as a promising new home

'Only settlements [in Gaza] will bring about the security we had 20 years ago'

- Bethan McKernan Jerusalem Ruth Michaelson Kedumim Quique Kierszenbaum

From a few points on the periphery between Israel and Gaza, it is possible to see the bombed-out ruins of the besieged Palestinian territory. For most onlookers, the scene is apocalyptic - but for rightwing Israelis who want to resettle the strip, it is a promising new horizon.

Once dismissed as the pipe dream of fringe extremists, the idea is gaining momentum thanks to Israel's military success in Gaza and political support from Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition.

Last week, near Be'eri, a border kibbutz devastated by the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, the pro-settlement organisation Nachala held a "Preparing to Resettle Gaza" conference, laying out its vision for the territory's future. The event was green-lit by the Israeli forces despite the area technically still being a closed military zone.

Several hundred people showed up, including government ministers and Knesset members.

The atmosphere at the two-day conference was festive, marking the Sukkot harvest celebration: there was singing and dancing, and popcorn and candyfloss. The area was awash in the blue and white of the Israeli flag, and most men attending carried pistols or rifles.

Adults took part in planning sessions in which speakers pointed out strategic areas on maps of Gaza, or milled about stands representing rightwing political parties and the Jewish supremacist group Lehava.

Children enjoyed a puppet show and petting zoo.

"We plan to take what we have acquired in the years of settling Judea and Samaria and to do the same thing here in Gaza," Nachala's chair, Daniella Weiss, a veteran of the settler movement, told those attending, using the Israeli nomenclature for the occupied West Bank.