Former Israeli settlers eager to return to post-war Gaza after leaving in 2005

“A house on the beach is not just a dream!“, states a real estate advertisement that sounds like a temptation for many former Israeli settlers, evacuated from Link in 2005 and who hope to return when the war in Palestinian territory ends.

The real estate developer Harey Zahavspecialized in construction in the settlements of West Bank occupied, illegal under international law, sparked controversy in mid-December when he posted this poster on social media with plans to build houses in Link.

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“This campaign expresses the desire to return, but we do not have any projects in progress“, stressed the owner of the real estate agency, Zeev Epsteinon Israeli television channel 13, in reaction to indignant comments on Israeli social media about this announcement.

Khan Younes |

Israeli real estate agent Harey Zahav, together with Israeli soldiers, releases a video announcing the establishment of a new settlement, expressing gratitude for reaching this moment

They will call it Morag after a former illegal settlement built near it previously pic.twitter.com/JLXlvgHbS2

—Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) December 25, 2023

Although some former presidents of the Gaza settlements, evacuated by Israel in 2005, openly express their desire to return one day, since the beginning of the war with Hamashe October 7thNo senior Israeli official mentioned the possibility of there being a Jewish presence again in that territory, where 2.4 million Palestinians live.

On Wednesday, deputy Zvika Foghelof the extreme right party Jewish Strengthstated in a public radio interview that Israel should take control of the northern part of the Gaza strip and put it there”a new Jewish colony”.

Despite its unilateral withdrawal in 2005, international law considers that Israel It is the occupying power of the Gaza Strip, territory conquered in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Hamas came to power there in 2007.

Shrouded bodies of Palestinians killed in northern Gaza, who were captured and later released by Israel, are buried in a mass grave in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on December 26, 2023. (Photo by Mahmoud HAMS/AFP) ( MAHMUD HAMS/)

“Its the Paradise”

According to think tank research Jewish People’s Policy Institute published in late November, 44% of the Israeli Jewish population is in favor of a “civilian presence”Israeli in Gaza after the war.

For Hannah Picarda 66-year-old French-Israeli who lived for 16 years in a settlement in this Palestinian territory, “It’s obvious we’re going back”.

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She and her family were evacuated by the Israeli army in August 2005, along with more than 8,000 Israelis, as part of the then prime minister’s plan. ariel sharon unilaterally withdraw Israeli forces and dismantle settlements.

“Deep down we dream of returning, because this is our home” Picard says in “your temporary home”, an apartment on the 18th floor of a block at the entrance of Jerusalem.

Palestinians mourn the death of relatives killed in an Israeli attack on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip, on December 25, 2023. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP). (MAHMUD HAMS/)

More than 21,100 people, mostly women, teenagers and children, were killed in Israeli military operations in Gaza, launched in response to an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli territory in Gaza. October 7thwhich left around 1,140 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the latest figures from both sides.

Picard, missing his home in the ancient coastal town of Shirat Hayamsays “living there was paradise”.

“It was a wonderful, beautiful place, and also a place with an ideal life, a paradise“, to remember.

“There’s no doubt”

In Jerusalem, in Gush Katif Museumnamed after the former Gaza Strip settlement bloc, Oded Mizrahione of its managers is convinced that the return is close.

“Everyone understands that Hamas cannot stay there (…). We have no choice but to govern (in Gaza) and then, I say this as a believer, God will force things”, he tells AFP.

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Visitors to the museum can view photos, maps and religious objects from the destroyed settlements, and purchase souvenirs such as small bottles of sand Gush Katif and books about Jewish history in Gaza, which Mizrahi says go back to ancient times.

You can also buy t-shirts that say “We are going home”(We Return Home), recently printed, for 35 shekels ($10).

According to Mizrahi, the number of visitors has increased since the start of the war.

“I’m sure we’ll be back, without a doubt, but the question is when.,” says Picard.

Source: Elcomercio