Hundreds of people, including several Israeli lawmakers, demonstrated in central Jerusalem on Thursday in support of the expulsion of the Palestinian population of Gaza and the Jewish resettlement of the coastal territory, as the only way to end terrorism.
The rally, which was titled “This Time We Must Triumph: Occupy, Expel, Settle” and was organized by various right-wing organizations, included banners that read “Only transfer will bring peace.”
“The land of Israel is for the people of Israel. Gaza is for Jews, Judea and Samaria is for Jews. They are ours in the merit of our fathers and the merit of our deeds,” said Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech of the Otzma Yehudit Party.
“The expulsion of our enemies needs to be forever. We are here not only to expel but to inherit, to establish flourishing settlements full of life. Victory will be that all of Gaza returns to our hands, where Jews establish new generations of courageous settlers,” she said.
Otzma Yehudit Chairman Itamar Ben Gvir told the crowd he backed a policy of “encouraging emigration” from Gaza and called on the government to halt all supplies currently being transferred through Israel into the Strip.
MK Nissim Vaturi from the ruling Likud party said, “I don’t understand why there are still Arabs in the Gaza Strip. Transfer is not a dirty word. [U.S. President Donald] Trump is giving us his full backing and we need to turn to countries that protect them and they should absorb them.”
Last month, Trump suggested that Palestinians in Gaza be relocated as the territory is rebuilt into the “Riveria of the Middle East” under U.S. control.