The Israeli settlement movement Nahala announced on Friday that it had attempted to establish a new settlement outpost near the fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip, naming it “Pioneers of Gaza”.
The move was intended to pressure the Israeli government into allowing settlements to be re-established inside the enclave. Israeli police intervened to disperse the settlers, while the Israeli military closed roads leading to the area and declared it a closed military zone to prevent them from returning or attempting to cross the border into Gaza.
In a post on X, the settler group said it had established the outpost overnight with the participation of more than 700 people, including bereaved families, wounded Israeli soldiers, rabbis, members of the Knesset and public figures. It added that participants had erected structures and laid basic infrastructure near the border fence, in an area opposite Gaza City, in preparation for moving the outpost into the Strip.
Nahala called on the Israeli government to immediately approve the transfer of the outpost to the buffer zone occupied by the Israeli military in northern Gaza, urging it not to yield to external pressure. The movement claimed that “Gaza is an inseparable part of the Land of Israel” and argued that taking control of territory and establishing settlements were the means to impose defeat on the Palestinians.
It also called for the re-establishment of settlements in Gaza, the repeal of the Disengagement Law and the encouragement of Palestinian emigration to be included among the core principles of the next Israeli government.
The movement said that Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, a member of Likud, had participated in the settlement activity overnight. In a video recording, he was seen saying: “One more step forward; we are getting closer and closer to the desired goal,” referring to the re-establishment of Israeli settlements inside the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the Hebrew-language news website Walla reported that Israeli police had dispersed settlers who attempted to establish the outpost in Simhoni Forest, located between the Israeli settlements of Nahal Oz and Kfar Aza and the border fence with Gaza. It added that the military had closed roads leading to the area and declared it a closed military zone, fearing that settlers might bypass the barriers, reach the border fence or cross into the Strip.
The website quoted Israeli military sources as saying that around 50 settlers had actually been present at the site, contradicting Nahala’s announcement that more than 700 people had participated in the operation. It explained that the settlers had erected structures in the area between Israeli communities and the border fence but had not entered the Gaza Strip during this attempt.
For its part, the Hebrew-language newspaper Israel Hayom reported that Nahala had established the outpost as a first step towards moving settlers into the Strip. It noted that the organisers were demanding that the government adopt a decision permitting the establishment of settlement communities in Gaza. The Israeli government has not announced its approval of the outpost’s establishment or its transfer into the Strip.
This latest attempt is part of a series of initiatives led by the Nahala movement, whose prominent leaders include settler activist Daniella Weiss, to re-establish settlements in the Gaza Strip since the war began in 2023.
In January 2024, the movement organised a conference in Jerusalem in cooperation with other settlement groups, under the title “Victory Conference”. The event called for the re-establishment of settlements in Gaza and the northern West Bank and was attended by Israeli political figures, including 10 ministers from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and members of the governing coalition in the Knesset. Among them were National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.