At the end of September, several Internet users relayed a video of barely more than a minute on social networks. It shows Israelis boarding boats to go “observer Gaza” and suggesting “that from now on Gaza is totally Jewish”, as one of the organizers of these trips explains in the short extract.
These images are actually taken from a documentary from the Turkish public and pro-government media TRT World, broadcast at the end of August 2024 and titled Holy Redemption. Steal Palestinian land. The film offers an immersion into several groups of radical Israeli settlers, who seek to establish Jewish colonies on Palestinian territory. “In this video, the woman seen leading the passengers on the boat is Daniella Weiss, leader of Nachala, an ultra-conservative Jewish settler organization,” also notes Snopes, an American media specialized in verifying information.
These boat trips are not organized at the initiative of the Israeli government, but that of activists who demand the return of settlements in the Palestinian enclave. Nachala is particularly known for organizing collections to found illegal outposts, including under Israeli law.
“Replacement de colonie”
This summer, a group of far-right clerics also attempted several times to plant “un ersatz de colonie” on the border with the Gaza Strip, on Israeli territory, thus indicates The Times of Israel. “We want to show that there are people who are ready to do it, one of the group’s leaders, Yosef Yitzhak De Bresser, explained to the Israeli media. We would be happy to do it inside Gaza if we had the opportunity.”
Officially, Tel Aviv has no plans to reinstate Jewish settlements in Gaza – the settlements that long existed there were dismantled by Ariel Sharon’s government in 2005. But some members of the government, including the finance minister , Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have publicly expressed support for the establishment of Israeli settlements, reports The Times of Israel.
Ha’Aretz underlines in addition the Israeli desire to “take total power” on the north of the Gaza Strip, from the old border to the Netzarim corridor [un axe militaire est-ouest qui coupe en deux la bande de Gaza]. “Then we should expect the installation of Israeli settlements in this area, which will eventually be completely annexed by Israel,” explains the left-wing Israeli daily.
Ha’Aretz also recalls the appointment, on August 28, of Lieutenant-Colonel Elad Goren as “leader of the humanitarian and civil effort” alongside the coordinator of government activities in the Territories (Cogat). An extended title which could be similar to “governor of Gaza”.
