With elections approaching in October, Israel’s right-wingers have made promoting the rebuilding of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip a central issue of their campaign.
This is part of a broader effort to press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reverse Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the coastal enclave, in which it unilaterally eradicated settlements.
On Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key members of Netanyahu’s far-right wing, led thousands of Israeli settlers and activists to the Gaza border to demand the reconstruction of three settlements in northern Gaza: Nisanit, Dugit and Elei Sinai. The demonstration, organized by the hard-line Natyara Settlers Movement, was attended by government officials and parliamentarians. This demonstration is not just a political stunt aimed at securing right-wing votes. Expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank and rebuilding settlements in Gaza are obvious dreams of the Israeli far right, who believe that now, with Israel occupying more than half of Gaza, is the perfect opportunity to pressure Netanyahu to advance their agenda.
In an attempt to prevent demonstrators from entering the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared the area a closed military zone, forcing organizers to change routes. Undaunted, however, the marchers continued toward the Gaza border, avoiding the fences set up by the Israeli army and police.
Buses transported families, including children and teenagers, from Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, and young activists from Ben Givir and Smotrich’s parties handed out election materials and pamphlets.
“If someone had said three years ago that they would control 70% of the Gaza Strip, no one would have believed them,” Ben Gvir told the rally.
“So today I say this: there will be Jewish settlements throughout Gaza,” he said, adding that Israel should “encourage voluntary migration” of Palestinians. The idea was briefly floated by the Trump administration before it was ultimately rejected in the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
“We are going home. Gaza is ours,” Ben Gvir said.
Mr. Smotrich cast the moment in clear political terms, warning that a change of government could “roll back the entire Zionist revolution and national settlement revolution” of the past four years under the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.
“All this could be in vain. And we will be marching here again to prevent evacuation,” he said. Mr. Smotrich has dramatically expanded settlements in the West Bank during his administration, and has made clear he intends to continue doing so.
Both Smotrich and Ben Gvir have supported rebuilding Gaza settlements since October 7, 2023, and see the Gaza war as an opportunity to reverse the 2005 withdrawal.
Smotrich, who is also the Defense Ministry’s minister for settlements affairs, said in June that a completed plan for three settlements in northern Gaza was awaiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval. He described Gaza as an “inseparable part of Israel’s land” and argued that the new settlements would provide a security buffer. “There is no safety without reconciliation,” Smotrich said in late June.
Defense Minister Israel Katz separately declared that he intends to establish three military outposts in the region. The Israeli government also uses military outposts as a first step to establishing a physical civilian presence on the ground, then gradually expanding into civilian communities and settlements.
However, Prime Minister Netanyahu has neither endorsed nor condemned these settlement plans, and they have not been submitted to the Israeli cabinet. Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently leading an interim government until the next election on October 27.
Israeli forces currently occupy about 60% of the Gaza Strip, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has publicly stated that he has ordered the military to occupy 70% and possibly more. Under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in October 2025, Israel was required to withdraw to about 53% of its territory, but the IDF has since expanded its control far beyond that line. President Trump’s Gaza peace plan and ceasefire framework explicitly excludes Israeli occupation or annexation of Gaza.
Prior to its withdrawal in 2005, Israel maintained 21 settlements across Gaza, home to approximately 8,000 settlers. A unilateral withdrawal under former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismantled these communities and evicted four more settlements in the northern West Bank. In recent years, Netanyahu’s government has reversed elements of that policy, including legislation that would have allowed Israelis to return to areas of the West Bank they had previously taken refuge in, as well as approval of new settlements in those areas.
Last week, the Israeli government approved a plan to allocate more than 2.3 billion shekels (approximately $766 million) to establish new Jewish settlements and build access roads in the occupied West Bank. This is part of an accelerated effort to strengthen settlement operations and destroy the possibility of a future Palestinian state.
Although all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law, settlers have successfully established dozens of unauthorized outposts in recent years, eventually securing recognition from the Israeli government.
Israel’s new settlement push, combined with the protracted Gaza war and increasing settler violence, has dramatically increased international criticism of Israel. Several countries, including the UK, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway, have recently imposed new sanctions on groups and individuals linked to the settler movement, as well as travel bans on Ben Gvir and Smotrich in some European countries.
