Dozens of right-wing activists crossed into the Gaza Strip by vehicle Thursday evening as part of a campaign to renew Jewish settlement in the territory. Among them was lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party.
IDF reserve forces identified the group after they crossed the border and were working to return them to Israeli territory. The crossing took place at at least two locations in northern Gaza and marked the second such incident this month.
Right-wing activists cross into Gaza
(Video: Nachala)
The activists are affiliated with the Nachala settlement movement, which advocates reestablishing Jewish communities in Gaza. In a statement, the group said the entry was part of celebrations marking the Hebrew month of Adar, a festive period on the Jewish calendar leading up to Purim, which commemorates the biblical story of deliverance of the Jewish people as told in the Book of Esther.
“A festive entry today is the first sign ahead of a massive march into Gaza during the Passover holiday,” the group said.
Son Har-Melech said the activists were sending a message about Israel’s future in Gaza.
“In this place, from which the most despicable murderers set out to spread death and destruction, we declare today: Jewish boys and girls will play in the streets of Gaza, thriving cities will rise and life will flourish,” she said. Quoting a verse from the Book of Esther, she added, “The Jews shall rule over their enemies — this is not just a verse in the scroll, it is the reality we are building here on the ground. Gaza will be Jewish, because only this will ensure true victory and security for the people of Israel.”
Children were among those who crossed into Gaza, according to the group.
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Nachala movement members and Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech (center, holding sign), enter northern Gaza
(Photo: Nachala)
Nachala said the move was part of an “unbroken sequence of actions” aimed at restoring Jewish settlement in the territory. “While overseas they are launching [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s Board of Peace, here on the ground the message is clear and unequivocal: Gaza is our ancestral inheritance and there will be no foreign rule there,” the movement said.
Tzvi Elimelech Sharbaf, head of the Nachala movement, said the group’s entry into Gaza “with song and dance” was intended as a response to any plans for foreign governance in the territory.
“In the month of Adar, we are reminded that light dispels darkness,” he said. “The Israeli public demands Jewish settlement, which alone is victory, and this entry is the opening shot ahead of the massive march during the upcoming Passover holiday. The people of Israel are returning to Gaza, returning home.”