JERUSALEM: A far-right Israeli settler movement said Friday that more than 700 people had participated in establishing a new outpost near the Gaza border and called on the government relocate it into the Palestinian enclave, in the latest push to revive Israeli settlements in Gaza.
The outpost, named “Halutzei Gaza” or “Pioneers of Gaza,” was set up overnight Thursday in the Simhoni Forest in southern Israel, overlooking northern Gaza.
A video shared by the Nachala settler movement on X showed activists installing structures and basic infrastructure for the outpost.
The movement said participants included bereaved families, wounded soldiers, rabbis and public figures, and urged the Israeli government to authorize the settlement’s relocation to a northern buffer zone inside Gaza.
“We demand that the government stand firm against the pressures and immediately order the relocation of the settlement to the northern perimeter area,” Nachala said on X.
“Gaza is an inseparable part of the Land of Israel, and only taking land and settling it will instill in the enemy a clear sense of defeat.”
The movement also posted that it was organizing an event for families at the new settlement that included children’s theatre, crafts and food.
Israeli police said officers were monitoring the site to prevent settlers from crossing the border fence, according to local media reports.
Nachala, led by prominent far-right settler activist Daniella Weiss, has been campaigning for the reestablishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza and encouraging Palestinians to leave the territory.
The movement has organized conferences and mobilized prospective settlers since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, drawing support from far-right Israeli politicians who advocate permanent Israeli control over the enclave.
Several members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition voiced support for Friday’s initiative.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who appeared alongside Weiss in a video released by the movement, expressed hope that the next Israeli government would expand settlement activity.
Religious Zionism lawmaker Ohad Tal also urged Netanyahu to authorize the outpost’s relocation into Gaza, while far-right lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech praised the initiative as a response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
Nachala has demanded that the next government’s coalition agreement include provisions for establishing Israeli communities in Gaza, repealing the Disengagement Law and encouraging Palestinian emigration.
Israel withdrew its troops and dismantled all 21 settlements in Gaza in 2005 under a disengagement plan introduced by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, evacuating about 8,000 settlers.
The withdrawal remains deeply contested among Israel's far-right settlement movement, which has intensified calls for a return to Gaza since the war began.
Netanyahu has publicly denied that his government intends to reestablish Israeli settlements in Gaza, despite repeated calls from some members of his coalition.
The initiative comes as Gaza continues to face widespread destruction and a severe humanitarian crisis following years of war, with much of its population displaced and reconstruction efforts facing major obstacles.