Most Israelis support establishing settlements in Gaza, West Bank

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
29 May 2024 15:09
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A recent study released by an Israeli security forum has found that 62% of Israelis support settling in the Gaza Strip.

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Backdropped by an Israeli army tank and an armored personnel carrier, an Israeli settler family walks with their children in the settlement of Kfar Darom in the Gush Katif block of settlements, which is now liberated, in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, on May 30, 2004. (AP)

Reserve Brigadier General Amir Avivi said that the "catastrophe" of October 7 and the war on Gaza have brought up questions on the Israeli settlement process in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip and how the process would affect Israeli security.

Other than serving in the Israeli army, Avivi also leads a movement named Israel's Defense & Security Forum (IDSF). The forum includes 22,000 Israeli reservists and is concerned with Israeli security.

In the latest publication released by IDSF, the movement conducted a survey that posed security-related questions to settlers in occupied territories. According to the results, 96% of respondents said that settling al-Naqab and al-Jalil should be reinforced.

As for internationally recognized Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, 62% and 73% of settlers said the process should be reinforced in the respective territories.

Those who responded positively to reinforcing settlement processes, in the aforementioned area, believed that doing so would improve Israeli security.

Israeli society endorses more extremism

The results of the study reveal a dangerous trend among Israeli settlers, as the majority of respondents are encouraging setting up illegal settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Although setting up illegal settlements has been rampant in the occupied West Bank, no settlements have been established in the Gaza Strip since September 2005.

During the Israeli war on Gaza, movements demanding settlements be set up in the Gaza Strip and simultaneously calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians have gained traction.

Officials have shown clear intentions, on multiple occasions, of supporting such policies, which would see thousands of Palestinians expelled from their homes in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Officials have even called on Egypt and Jordan to take in the influx of Palestinian Refugees that such a process would result in, which both rejected.

October 7, Hezbollah operation shattered the Zionist dream

As for al-Naqab and al-Jalil, the sentiment expressed by Israeli settlers could be attributed to instability in the two regions, which have been occupied since 1948. In al-Naqab, settlers suffered the effects of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which shattered their vision of a secure settler colonial state. In al-Jalil, thousands were forced to relocate as a result of Hezbollah's operations from South Lebanon. The area, in particular, has seen extreme turbulence in recent weeks as local councils complain about the state of destruction that settlements have been subjected to and the complete dismantlement of the military's deterrence.

Reinforcing settling processes in these areas will be essential to maintain the Israeli settler project, as many refuse to return to their housing units after the war on Gaza ends.