Thousands of Israelis calling for Jews to once more live in the Gaza Strip are expected to participate in an Independence Day march towards the border with the Strip on Tuesday, according to organizers.
The Nachala Settlement Movement, which seeks to re-establish Jewish communities in Gaza, is organizing the march along with other Zionist groups including the Sovereignty Movement and Torat Lehima.
According to Nahala’s registration page for the rally, more than 6,500 people had signed up for the march as of Monday.
Tuesday’s march is scheduled to depart at noon from a parking lot near Kibbutz Or HaNer, located less than 2.5 miles from northern Gaza, and end at an observation point that overlooks the Strip.
“We are returning home! At a time when the nations of the world are pressuring the people of Israel, the people of Israel start to cling to Gaza’s land,” the Nachala movement’s invitation reads.
According to the organization, “to retain the achievements of the war [against Hamas in Gaza], extensive settlement of the Gaza Strip is needed, correcting the past mistakes of Oslo and the ‘disengagement.’”
יום העצמאות השנה חוגגים יחד
צעדת עזה – דורשים לחזור הביתה!כל הפרטים בסרטון pic.twitter.com/Rm6PqAhN0i
— נחלה – תנועה להתיישבות (@T_Nachala) May 9, 2024
Otzma Yehudit Party lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech endorsed the march on Sunday, insisting in a video message that only rebuilding Jewish communities in Gaza would ensure Israel’s long-term security.
“We are going home. We will march together with thousands of the people of Israel to demand the settlement of the entire Gaza Strip. To make clear forever that whoever harms the people of Israel loses everything, and to guarantee total victory in [the] war,” she said.
In the summer of 2005, the Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon unilaterally disengaged from Gaza, removing thousands of Israeli residents and transferring them to within the Green Line.
While the move was designed to bring calm to Israel’s southern border, it ushered in a victory for Hamas in the January 2006 Palestinian Authority elections. Within a year and a half, Hamas had seized total power in the Strip and evicted the Western-backed P.A.
During its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, Hamas murdered some 1,200 Israelis and wounded thousands more. It also took more than 250 civilians and soldiers back to Gaza as hostages.