'Resettlement' Conference: Israelis cheer for the usurpation of Gaza
7 Min Read
A conference attended by thousands of Israeli settlers and officials has exposed the genocidal sentiments the occupation has after plans and statements of reoccupying Gaza were shared.
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Map of Gaza settlements on display during "Resettlement Conference" in occupied al-Quds on January 28, 2024 (Social Media)
In their latest attempt to expel Palestinians from Gaza, ministers and members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right party Likud assembled to brainstorm legal ways to "voluntarily emigrate" Palestinians as coined by the extremist Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the conference on the "resettlement" of Gaza was held in occupied al-Quds on Sunday and was attended by thousands of Israeli settlers, members of the Knesset, the coalition cabinet, rabbis, and ministers. Families of Israeli occupation soldiers were also among the attendees. The conference itself resembled a carnival per se, with dancing and cheering echoing calls for genocide.
Today, Israel's Foreign Affairs and National Security ministers attended a conference on ethnic cleansing in Gaza, replacing Palestinians w/ Israeli settlers.
— IfNotNow🔥✡️ (@IfNotNowOrg) January 28, 2024
Conference organizer Daniella Weiss was clear: the plan is to starve Palestinians until they flee for their lives. pic.twitter.com/XUna6Y4Kbm
12 ministers and 15 coalition lawmakers expressed their will to re-occupy Gaza.
In his speech, Ben-Gvir reportedly said, "If we don’t want another October 7, we need to go back home and control [Gaza]. We need to find a legal way to voluntarily emigrate [Palestinians] and impose death sentences on terrorists … I turn to you, Prime Minister Netanyahu: this is time for brave decisions."
Shlomo Karhi, the communications minister, admitted that in war, the term "voluntary" means forcing a situation on someone until they decide to "consent", meaning coercing Palestinians into leaving through any means at hand.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich blatantly expressed, "We [Israelis] will settle and we will be victorious."
Tourism Minister Haim Katz said this is the occupation's chance to expand "Israel", and this can only done by usurping Gaza from its rightful owners.
🚨BREAKING: NEW SETTLEMENTS PLAN FOR GAZA.
— Censored Voice. (@CensoredNws) January 28, 2024
A conference was organized on Sunday in Israel to plan for establishing illegal settlements in Gaza after ethnically cleansing its people.
IMG1- This map of settlements was presented during the conference, which was attended by… pic.twitter.com/Gq3mWs7qUM
'Israel' has always eyed the Gaza lands
The illegal forced displacement of Palestinians has been a war tactic utilized by "Israel" to expropriate the Gazan lands, but its facets vary.
"Israel" had been imposing a 15-year-long sea, air, and land blockade on Gaza before the brutal war broke out on October 7. The embargo essentially served to suffocate Gaza by restricting the flow of exports, but "Israel" failed to consider the loyalty Palestinians have to their land and failed to acquire Gaza through the "soft" pressure it exerted, relative to the genocide happening right now.
Since October 7, occupation forces opted to indiscriminately bomb residential areas and buildings, rendering them uninhabitable. Palestinian survivors were forced to evacuate their homes and towns in search of shelter.
10 days into the genocide, the IOF issued warnings to Palestinians in north Gaza through phone calls, text messages, and fliers, advising them to evacuate to southern areas for safety as the IOF conducted operations in Gaza City, CNN reported.
However, some Palestinians who followed these evacuation instructions were tragically killed in Israeli airstrikes outside of the designated "safe zones".
So, "Israel" forcibly displaced Gazans from the north, in an attempt to evacuate it, and then killed refugees heading south.
Following a saga of similar incidents aimed at emptying the land of Palestinians, Iran exposed "Israel's" plans to usurp Gaza.
Forced displacement to Egypt, Jordan: Exposed and rejected
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian revealed that documents obtained by the Resistance during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 confirm the Israeli plan to forcibly displace all Gaza residents to Egypt and West Bank inhabitants to parts of Jordan.
Egypt categorically rejected the Israeli policy of forced displacement of the people of Gaza whether within the Strip or across the border into Eygpt's Sinai, the chairperson of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, stated.
In a press briefing, the official reiterated Egypt's rejection of the Israeli policy centered around the forced displacement of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip. Rashwan also rejected attempts to transfer Palestinians to Sinai or pressure them to move there via hostile practices.
He pointed out that the occupation has turned the Gaza Strip into a battlefield, especially in the northern areas, to force Palestinians to leave their homes and head toward so-called "safe zones" in Rafah, south of the Strip. He explained that these areas lack essential needs, such as water, food, and shelter.
Jordan also completely rejected the forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as the Jordanian King stressed the necessity of “enabling the people of Gaza to return to their homes.”
King Abdullah II “warned of the catastrophic repercussions" of the war in Gaza while calling on the US to press for an immediate ceasefire, a statement by the Royal Court said.
He pointed out that Jordan categorically rejects the forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which constitutes a clear violation of international law, adding, “We reject attempts to separate Gaza and the West Bank because they are an extension of the one Palestinian state.”
Explicit Israeli sentiments of usurping Gaza
"Israel's" fascist notions at the conference were not the first of their kind and certainly do not express their desire for maintaining legality and giving Palestinians their right to choice.
🚨“I’m directed towards fulfilling the commandment of settling the land of Israel.” — Israeli soldier casually talking about the Reestablishment Israeli settlements in Gaza, as Israeli ministers and lawmakers get ready for Sunday's 'Gaza Resettlement' Conference. pic.twitter.com/ECPlSVP2vi
— eman alroshdi (@EmanAlroshdi) January 27, 2024
Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu, and Smotrich have all previously called for the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed deep concern over Israeli demands to force Palestinians out of the besieged Gaza Strip. He emphasized that such calls for forced displacement violate international law.
"Very disturbed by high-level Israeli officials' statements on plans to transfer civilians from Gaza to third countries," Turk said in a post on X.
He further stressed that "international law prohibits forcible transfer of protected persons within or deportation from occupied territory."
Israeli "Heritage" Minister Amihai Eliyahu previously said that following the war on the Strip, Gaza must remain under Israeli occupation as Palestinians are incapable of managing "a proper civilian order," also noting in that context that the "two-state solution" is merely a delusion.
His statement is a reiteration of a previous position he made public, that he is in favor of the Israeli occupation taking control over Gaza, as well as restoring the settlements, which existed before the Strip was liberated by the Resistance in 2005.
"I want to go back and establish the settlement enterprise in the Strip – but I’m not sure that now is the time to do it."
Israeli "Social Equality" Minister Amichai Chikli has not ruled out the possibility of establishing Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, particularly in areas deemed sensible, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu also refused to allow the Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza post-war, saying it must be under Israeli rule. A disturbing report published by the Times of Israel earlier in the day reported that Israeli officials have held talks with several countries regarding the potential absorption of displaced Palestinians.
This suggests that residents of the embattled Strip may not be granted the right to return once the Israeli aggression comes to an end.
