On Sunday thousands of people participated in a march organized by the Nachala Movement, calling for the renewal of Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. The march was attended by government ministers and members of the governing coalition, alongside wounded veterans, active-duty soldiers, and bereaved families.
According to the Nachala Movement, 28 ministers and Knesset members took part in the march, including several members of the Security Cabinet, as well as ministers and MKs from the Likud party. Participants included Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, and Minister of Economy, Nir Barkat, Minister of Communication, Shlomo Karhi, Minister for Diaspora Affairs of Israel, Amichai Chikli, Minister for Social Equality and the Advancement of the Status of Women, May Golan, Environmental Protection Minister, Idit Silman, and Minister of Heritage, Amichai Eliyahu, alongside other coalition lawmakers.
Finance Minister and Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich also took part in the march, calling for the establishment of three Israeli communities in northern Gaza—a bloc that would include the former settlements of Elei Sinai, Dugit, and Nisanit, as well as the Erez Industrial Zone, all of which were evacuated under Israel’s 2005 disengagement plan.
"We erased the disgrace of the disengagement in northern Samaria, and with God's help, determination, and perseverance, we will do the same here in the Gaza Strip," Smotrich said.
He also linked the call for renewed settlement to Israel's political landscape. "God forbid that the left returns to power, everything we're working toward could be lost, and we would find ourselves marching here again to prevent further evacuations and destruction," he said, urging participants to "work to ensure the continued rule of the national camp."
Last month, Smotrich said that the Settlement Administration was prepared to establish three Israeli communities in northern Gaza immediately, as soon as it received authorization from the prime minister.
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset MK Limor Son Har-Melech of the Otzma Yehudit party also addressed the march, saying: "We have come here today, 21 years after the disengagement, to state clearly: the Gaza Strip must once again become part of the settlement enterprise of the Jewish people. From the place where the terrorists who massacred our children, our women, and our elderly came from, we should once again hear the voices of children playing, of families building their homes, and of old and young people living in the land of their ancestors."
Son Har-Melech added that "the true answer to terrorism is sovereignty, settlement, and a strong Jewish presence," and said that the purpose of the march was "to correct the historical injustice of the evacuation from Gush Katif."
The march was originally scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. from the Yad Mordechai Junction and proceed toward the Gaza border. Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared parts of the western Negev a closed military zone, following a security assessment and concerns that some participants might attempt to enter the Gaza Strip unlawfully.
After an agreement was reached between the IDF and the organizers, the Nachala Movement announced that participants would instead gather along the access road to Zikim Beach. The march concluded at a lookout point overlooking Elei Sinai and the northern Gaza perimeter.
The IDF clarified that entry into communities within the area would be permitted for local residents and people working in the area. Military forces were deployed throughout the region and along routes leading to the border in order to enforce the order and prevent entry into the Gaza Strip.
![MK Limor Son Har-Melech and marchers and supporters of Otzma Yehudit in the "March of the Thousands to Gaza" for renewed settlement in the Gaza Strip (Photo: MK Limor Son Har Melech's spokeswoman)](https://static.davar1.co.il/www/uploads/2026/07/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-19-at-22.28.29-768x1024.jpeg "MK Limor Son Har-Melech and marchers and supporters of Otzma Yehudit in the "March of the Thousands to Gaza" for renewed settlement in the Gaza Strip (Photo: MK Limor Son Har Melech's spokeswoman)")
