JERUSALEM – Warnings from the White House – and the United Nations Supreme Court – appear to have done little to stop some of Israel's right-wing ministers from promoting an alarming vision that the country's prime minister himself has rejected: rebuilding Israeli settlements in Gaza after the war.
Several ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government were among thousands of people who flocked to a conference in Jerusalem on Sunday evening where they joined far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the finance minister in calling for the “resettlement” of Israelis in Gaza Bezalel Smotrich gives keynote speeches.
The conference, titled “Settlement Brings Security,” was led in part by the right-wing Nachala Organization, a group that advocates for the expansion of Jewish settlements that are considered illegal by international and humanitarian organizations. The event called on Israel to rebuild settlements in both the Gaza Strip and the northern part of the occupied West Bank.
Israel dismantled its settlements in the Gaza Strip when it unilaterally withdrew from the area in 2005 after 38 years of occupation. The enclave remained under the control of the Palestinian Authority, with Hamas taking control in 2007 after winning the 2006 elections and then a brutal power struggle with its main rival, Fatah.
While Netanyahu said Israel “has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or expelling its civilian population,” questions remained about what the enclave's future will look like when Israel's war against Hamas ends.
A participant takes a photo near a map suggesting a vision for Israeli settlements in Gaza at the conference in Jerusalem on Sunday. Kobi Wolf for NBC News
In the lobby of Sunday's conference, a huge map showed what organizers said was their vision for settlements in Gaza – from the north to the south of the enclave.
Nachala director Daniella Weiss, a prominent leader of the Israeli settler movement, told NBC News the map envisions a future in which “everyone [the] The Gaza Strip is part of the State of Israel, the Land of Israel.”
“After October 7, history changed,” she said, referring to that day’s Hamas attacks on Israel that killed around 1,200 people and took 260 people hostage to Gaza. “It is the end of the Arab presence in Gaza. It’s the end.”
“Instead of them, there will be many, many Jews who will return to the settlements and build new settlements,” she said.
On stage at the conference, Ben-Gvir called on Netanyahu to be “brave” and said it was time to establish Israeli settlements in Gaza – and to “encourage” Palestinians to leave the enclave.
There were many families in the crowd at Sunday's conference. Kobi Wolf for NBC News
Smotrich said he had “mixed feelings” about the event as Israel was focused on the war against Hamas, but he said the country was at a crossroads and that “without regulation there is no security.”
Her comments drew cheers from a cheering audience, with several ministers at one point rising from their front row seats to join other participants as they joined in the singing and dancing.
In addition to Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, Culture Minister Amihai Eliyahu and Tourism Minister Haim Katz from Netanyahu's Likud party, as well as a number of other politicians, were also present at the event.
Ariel Kallner (left), Shlomo Karhi, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Yossi Dagan and Amihai Eliyahu were among the politicians who danced at the conference in Jerusalem on Sunday. Kobi Wolf for NBC News
They attended the conference after the International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent genocide in its offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 26,000 people and injured more than 64,000. Thousands more are missing and presumed dead, according to Palestinian officials.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the conference
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The United Nations Supreme Court failed to order a ceasefire that South Africa, the plaintiff in the case, had called for.
Hate speeches by prominent figures in the Israeli government played a key role in the South African case, which accused Israel of genocide, a charge Israel denied.
But on Sunday, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir appeared undeterred neither by events in The Hague nor by a recent warning from the Biden administration to immediately “end” rhetoric advocating “relocation of Palestinians outside Gaza.” to set.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leaves the conference stage on Sunday. Kobi Wolf for NBC News
“This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Jan. 2, responding to comments from Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.
“The government of Israel, including the prime minister, has repeatedly and consistently told us that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government,” he said, adding that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir “should stop immediately.”
The U.S., Miller said, has “clearly, consistently and unequivocally stated that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land,” but Hamas “no longer has control over its future and no terrorist groups that could threaten Israel.”
A map outlining organizers' views on what a Gaza relocation might look like at the conference in Jerusalem on Sunday. Kobi Wolf for NBC News / Kobi Wolf
Netanyahu's office declined to comment on the Israeli ministers' presence.
Since the start of the war, Netanyahu has faced a constant balancing act: trying to maintain the Biden administration's support while leading the most right-wing government in Israeli history after it formed a coalition dependent on extremist settler politicians.
While thousands of people flocked to Sunday's event, a recent poll conducted by the Hebrew University in early December found that more than half of Israelis oppose the annexation of Gaza and the re-establishment of settlements dismantled during Israel's 2005 disengagement , according to the Times of Israel.
A man holds a billboard reading “Only handing over to the Palestinians will bring peace” in Jerusalem on Sunday. Kobi Wolf for NBC News
In a survey of more than 1,800 people, 56% of Israelis said they opposed the policy, while 33% were in favor and 11% were unsure, the newspaper reported.
Centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X that the participation of Israeli ministers on Sunday represented a “new low” for Netanyahu’s government.
He also expressed concern that the event could damage possible negotiations on a deal to release the hostages held in Gaza, as well as Israel's international reputation as it remains under scrutiny over its deadly offensive in Gaza.
Paul Goldman and Matt Bradley contributed.