Live Update arrow right icon From the Liveblog of Thursday, November 28, 2024

Minister Goldknopf inspects Gaza with settler leader, urges settlement of Strip, poses with map of planned settlements

By Sam Sokol 28 November 2024, 4:07 pm 87 Edit

Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

UTJ's Yitzhak Goldknopf, center, pictured with a map of prospective settlements in Gaza during a tour of the Gaza border area, November 28, 2024. Daniella Weiss is seen on the right. (Courtesy Yitzhak Goldknopf)
UTJ's Yitzhak Goldknopf, center, pictured with a map of prospective settlements in Gaza during a tour of the Gaza border area, November 28, 2024. Daniella Weiss is seen on the right. (Courtesy Yitzhak Goldknopf)

Housing and Construction Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf says he inspected sites in the Gaza Strip where he wants to reestablish settlements.

In a tweet, Goldknopf posts a photograph of himself alongside Daniella Weiss, the head of the Nachala Settlement Movement, looking at a map of potential settlement sites labeled, in English, “map of the [settlement nuclei] in Gaza.”

Goldknopf has repeatedly endorsed reestablishing Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip after the war against Hamas ends.

“Today I toured the Gaza Strip settlements. Jewish settlement here is the answer to the terrible massacre and the answer to the International Criminal Court in The Hague who, instead of caring for the 101 hostages, chose to issue arrest warrants against the prime minister and the minister of defense,” Goldknopf tweets.

Goldknopf did not actually enter the Gaza Strip but inspected the area from the border. Photos showed him viewing the area through binoculars.

In a separate post, Nachala thanks the ultra-Orthodox minister for accepting the organization’s invitation to “tour and observe the future settlement locations in Gaza.”

“Together we will build Jewish cities in Gaza, which will bring down the prices of apartments in the country with the understanding that without settlement there is no security. Our Gaza, forever,” the group states.

According to Hebrew media reports, earlier this month IDF soldiers went over their superiors’ heads to help Weiss enter the Strip to survey sites for potential Jewish settlements.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, Weiss, who is leading efforts to resettle northern Gaza, toured the Israeli side of the Gaza border fence with colleagues on November 13. The group eventually traversed the border, through unclear means, going a short way into the Strip.

During a speech on Monday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel should occupy Gaza and “encourage” half of the Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinians to emigrate within two years.

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