A major conference is being held this evening (Sunday) at the International Convention Center, calling for people to return to and settle the Gaza Strip, with 12 government ministers in attendance.
Thousands are gathering as we speak at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem in honor of the “Israel Victory Conference” held by the Samaria Council, the Nachalah movement, and other bodies. The conference calls for not withdrawing Israeli control of the Gaza Strip, instead restoring Jewish settlement in Israel controlled areas, under the heading “Settlement Brings Security – Returning to the Gaza Region and Northern Samaria.”
Among the participants at the conference are ministers and senior ministers in the government. These include Religious Zionism party leader and Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, UTJ leader and Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, Otzmah Yehudit leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Likud Cultural and Sport Minister Miki Zohar, Likud Tourism Minister Chaim Katz, Likud Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, Otzmah Yehudit Negev and Galilee and National Strength Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Religious Zionism Minister for Settlement and National Missions Orit Struk, Likud Environmental Minister Idit Silman, Likud Social Equality Minister May Golan, and Oztmah Yehudit Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu.
They are joined by many MKs within the current coalition, in what can only be called a show of force for the organizations calling for renewed Israeli settlement of the Strip.
Samaria Council Head Yossi Dagan said at the beginning of the conference that “The thousands are flocking here because the People of Israel are a healthy people, and they know what they want and know what needs to be done to receive security in the State of Israel. Already from the time of the Palmach, we learned: ‘Where the Jewish hoe ploughs the last furrow, there our border will run.’”
Daniella Weiss, Chairwoman of the Nachalah movement, called for not wasting this opportunity, explaining that “at historic moments in time like that which we are now in, we need to ignore all the background noise and understand what we really need to do, what our vision is, and where we wish to aim. The only victory of this war will be to return to the areas of the land of our forefathers. There was Jewish settlement in the city of Gaza for most of history from the Exodus from Egypt until today.”
Tzvi Elimelech Sharf, Chairman of the Nachalah movement, quoted from the sources: “In these times, we are returning to the important words of Shimon the Chashmonai: ‘We did not take a foreign land and we did not rule over the property of foreigners, but rather the land of our forefathers which is in the hands of our enemies which in a time of times was conquered without trial: and we, when we had the moment, we returned the land of our forefathers.’”