‘This is our land, we deserve it’: Dozens of Israelis planning to cross border and settle in Gaza

As the sun beats down on us near Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel, Avi looks out towards the place he really wants to live. It’s only two miles away and it shimmers in the sunshine.

“It would be our privilege,” he says, looking at his wife and three small children.

Their plan is to move to Gaza.

He’s not sure when it will be possible, but he’s hoping it will be soon, once it is safe to move in.

As if on cue, there is a boom as another shell is fired into Gaza from a nearby gun emplacement.

Avi is not alone.

Around us are dozens and dozens of Israelis who are keen to get into Gaza and claim the land as their own.

They have come to a conference on the resettlement of Gaza in Kibbutz Be’eri as a show of strength and determination. Many of them are couples with children.

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There is a tent where the youngsters are being entertained, a stall handing out drinks and a stage with speeches and music. People are making small talk in the shade of a pagoda.

There are lots of guns here, and the atmosphere is rich with a sense of frustration, entitlement and even excitement.

Reshit has come with her friends. She is the daughter of an Israeli soldier who spent months in Gaza and is now fighting in Lebanon. She is friendly, open, eloquent and utterly sure of herself.

So why would you want to live in Gaza?

“Because it’s our homeland,” she replies. “It says in the Torah that this is our home, this is our land, and we have every right to live there.

“So many soldiers have died in this. We have to keep doing what they started. They died for a reason. They started something. And I think it’s our duty for them and for their families to actually keep doing what they started.

“They sacrificed themselves for something so we have to sacrifice ourselves for that thing also.”

What, I ask, about the Palestinians who already live in Gaza? What should happen to them? She doesn’t miss a beat.

“We should kill them, every last one of them. And if the government won’t do that then we should just kick them out. This is our land. And we deserve it.”

Mass murder is not proposed by the other people we meet, at least not while talking to us, but the idea that the Palestinians should forego their land and be sent to other nations seems commonplace.

“Throughout history, countries who lose wars then lose their land,” I was told by a man called Boris, who says he is an activist for Likud, the political party of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Until recently, the idea of sending settlers into Gaza had very few supporters – a fringe proposal with almost no momentum.

Now right-wing politicians have jumped behind it with gusto as a growing sign of their determination not simply to beat Hamas, but to change the region.

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And so, along with the would-be settlers, there are politicians here, lending their weight.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the outspoken minister of national security, turns up to lend his support, agreeing that Palestinians should be removed from Gaza.

Another VIP visitor is Ariel Kallner, an MP for Likud, who tells me that he is here to show his support for the settlers’ plans.

He insists that “total victory” in the war can only be achieved when settlers have set up a town in northern Gaza. In the distance, smoke rises over Gaza.

In a large tent to the side, a loudspeaker bursts into life.

Daniella Weiss takes to the stage to applause. Now a sprightly 79 years old, she has spent half a century encouraging settlers to set up communities in the West Bank.

She claims to have established more than 330 settlements and now, her focus is on Gaza.

“You know, it wasn’t easy. We have accumulated a lot of experience about how to do it politically, how to work with the politicians, how to work with the public, and how to encourage the pioneers to be able to settle in a place that is their land, but is also a difficult place to live in,” she says. “We can teach them how to cope.”

There is another commotion, this time in the neighbouring field. Counter-demonstrators have turned up and a line of police officers is separating them from the settlers. They’re chanting their opposition and waving banners.

Mickal Frucktman bristles with anger. She says she was shocked to see Likud politicians at the event because “I think that means the government supports this idea”.

“What they want to do is illegal and it’s going to cause incredible problems. It’s going to totally ruin Israel morally, if there’s any moral shred left. And there are still 101 hostages being held.”

She looks at the settlers; they look back. It’s hard to imagine any common ground between these two camps, any fellow feeling.

And from somewhere near, there is a boom as another shell is launched into Gaza.