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HomeRead, Watch, ListenIsrael
Israel Votes 2026AnalysisIsrael

Push for Gaza re-settlement gains traction ahead of Israeli election

A rally near the Gaza border attended by nine Israeli cabinet ministers, together with Defence Minister Katz’s decision to establish three outposts in northern Gaza, signals growing political support for the movement.
Shahar Burla
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Gaza settlers SIPA V2

Israeli settler activists calling for reestablishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, on July 19, 2026 (Jamal Awad/Xinhua/SIPA/USA)

Published: 23 July 2026

Last updated: 23 July 2026

Calls to re-establish Jewish settlements in Gaza have persisted for decades. Many opponents of Israel’s 2005 disengagement never accepted the withdrawal as final, regarding it instead as a strategic mistake that could eventually be reversed.

The war that followed the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, gave the movement a renewed sense of purpose. Now, the approaching Israeli election, combined with the shifting national and international focus towards Iran and Lebanon rather than Gaza, has created fresh momentum for the resettlement campaign.

Thousands of Israelis gathered near the Gaza border on Sunday evening for a rally calling for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in the territory. They were joined by senior members of Netanyahu’s government, including ministers from Likud and its far-right coalition partners.

The demonstration came only days after Defence Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to establish three military-community outposts in northern Gaza. Together, the developments suggest that an idea once largely confined to the ideological margins is moving closer to Israel’s political mainstream.

What happened at the Gaza border rally?

The rally was organised by Nachala, a right-wing settler movement that has led the campaign to restore Jewish communities in Gaza.

It was held near Zikim Beach after security authorities prevented organisers from marching closer to the border by declaring parts of the western Negev a closed military zone. The restrictions followed previous incidents in which Israeli activists crossed into Gaza without permission.

Participants gathered under slogans including “Returning home after 21 years”. The rally concluded with demonstrators overlooking northern Gaza and the site of Elei Sinai, one of the Israeli settlements dismantled during the 2005 disengagement.

The participants demanded the immediate reconstruction of Elei Sinai, Dugit and Nisanit, which formed part of the northern Gaza settlement bloc. All three communities were evacuated, along with every other Israeli settlement in Gaza, when Ariel Sharon’s government withdrew Israeli soldiers and approximately 8,500 settlers from the territory.

The Jewish Independent

The political representation at Sunday’s demonstration was significant. Those attending included Smotrich, who also holds responsibilities within the Defence Ministry; National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir; Economy Minister Nir Barkat; Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi; Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli; Social Equality Minister May Golan; Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman; Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu; and Deputy Minister Almog Cohen.

Likud MK Avichay Buaron said the rally was intended to send a clear political message in favour of settling northern Gaza. “What led to October 7 was the fact that we were not there,” he argued.

Organisers initially promoted the event as a “March of Thousands to Gaza”, although Buaron said there was no intention to enter the territory or break the law.

Is the government planning settlements inside Gaza?

The rally followed comments by Defence Minister Israel Katz indicating that he intended to establish three Nahal outposts in northern Gaza, in areas previously occupied by Israeli settlements.

Nahal outposts combine a military presence with agricultural and community activity. They were established along Israel’s borders from the 1950s and were later used in territories occupied during the 1967 war. Historically, several Nahal outposts were eventually converted into permanent civilian settlements.

When asked directly about renewed settlement in Gaza during an interview on Channel 14, Netanyahu declined to rule it out, saying he preferred ‘to do’ rather than ‘to talk’

That history makes Katz’s announcement politically important. Although the proposed outposts would formally be military installations, critics fear they could become the foundation for future civilian communities.

Smotrich has said separately that preparations for three settlements in northern Gaza have been completed and construction could begin as soon as Netanyahu provides approval. “We are ready to establish three communities in northern Gaza immediately, as soon as the prime minister gives the green light,” he said in June.

Netanyahu has previously rejected the idea of rebuilding settlements in Gaza, describing it as unrealistic and insisting that Israel’s goals were security-related. More recently, however, he has been less categorical. His refusal to dismiss the proposal was politically significant, even if it did not amount to a change in official government policy.

The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in Gaza would face major legal and diplomatic opposition. The international community regards Gaza as an occupied Palestinian territory and considers transferring an occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory unlawful. Israel disputes aspects of this legal interpretation.

Who is behind the resettlement campaign?

Nachala was established in 2005 by veteran settler leader Daniella Weiss and Rabbi Moshe Levinger. It emerged in the aftermath of the disengagement and became a leading advocate for expanding Jewish settlement throughout the occupied territories.

Since October 7, Nachala has been at the centre of efforts to return Jewish Israelis to Gaza. It has established several “settlement nuclei”,  organised groups of families preparing to move into the territory if government approval is granted. The movement claims that more than 1,000 families have joined these groups.

Nachala has also organised symbolic activities intended to keep the issue in public view. In December 2023, hundreds of supporters participated in a boat trip overlooking Gaza, where they lit Chanukah candles and called for the renewal of settlements.

The following year, thousands attended a rally in Sderot demanding both the resettlement of Gaza and the “voluntary emigration” of its Palestinian population.

In December 2025, two groups of activists briefly crossed the boundary into Gaza and planted Israeli flags at locations they identified as the former settlements of Morag and Kfar Darom. Israeli soldiers removed the activists and prevented others from entering.

Weiss and Nachala have openly advocated Palestinian emigration from Gaza. The United Kingdom sanctioned Weiss and the organisation in 2025, citing their support for violence and intimidation against Palestinians. Nachala described the sanctions as antisemitic and reiterated its call for “occupation, emigration and settlements in Gaza”.

Why is the campaign gaining momentum now?

Calls to resettle Gaza are not new, but the upcoming October election has created a political opportunity for its supporters.

Netanyahu faces competition from parties and politicians seeking to appeal to right-wing voters dissatisfied with the conduct and outcome of the Gaza war. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have repeatedly argued that military control alone is insufficient and that permanent Jewish settlement is the only guarantee that Israel will not again withdraw from the territory.

The campaign also benefits from Gaza no longer commanding the same level of attention that it did during the most intense stages of the war. Public and media attention has increasingly moved towards Iran, Hezbollah and Israel’s security presence in Lebanon and Syria. This has given settler activists and their political supporters more room to advance practical proposals without generating the same immediate public debate.

Sunday’s rally does not mean that settlements will inevitably be built. Netanyahu has not formally approved civilian communities, and any attempt to establish them would encounter significant domestic and international resistance.

Nevertheless, the participation of so many cabinet ministers demonstrates how far the campaign has progressed. The question is no longer simply whether a small group of activists wants to return to Gaza. It is whether the idea will become an election promise, and, eventually, official Israeli policy.

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About the author

Shahar Burla

Shahar Burla

Dr Shahar Burla is a Sydney-based researcher, lecturer and Contributing Editor of TJI. Shahar holds a Master’s degree in political science from Hebrew University and a PhD in political science from Bar-Ilan University. He is the author of Political Imagination in the Diaspora: The Construction of a Pro-Israeli Narrative (2013) and co-editor of Australia and Israel: A Diasporic, Cultural and Political Relationship (2015).

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