Far-right minister claims protesters seeking Gaza settlements won’t cross fence during march

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says pro-settlement protesters holding a march on Gaza do not intend to cross the border into the Palestinian enclave.

“To the best of my knowledge… there is no intention to cross the fence,” he tells Army Radio, citing a conversation he had last night with organizer Daniella Weiss.

The army declared the area around Gaza a closed military zone, restricting access, ahead of a march advertised as a “return” to settlements inside the Strip that were evacuated in 2005. Ben Gvir is one of several cabinet members slated to attend the demonstration, along with over a dozen more government lawmakers.

A military source said the closed zone was ordered over worries that protesters would try to enter Gaza.

“The army needs to come to a compromise with the organizers,” says Ben Gvir, who is in charge of Israel’s police. “They are allowed to protest. If leftists are allowed to protest wherever, then they are allowed to protest as well.”

Ben Gvir says protesters’ demand that settlements be re-established in Gaza is “the most legitimate thing in the world,” and adds that they should also be calling for the government to encourage a mass exodus of Gazans out of the Strip.

The march is slated to begin at 5 p.m.