Hundreds of Israeli settlers convened at the Sderot lookout point overlooking Gaza on Thursday for a controversial demonstration organized by the Nachala settlement movement. The gathering, titled “Raising the Flag in Gaza,” explicitly advocated for establishing permanent Jewish settlements within the besieged Palestinian territory and called for the expulsion of Gaza’s Palestinian population.
The event unfolded against a backdrop of widespread destruction in northern Gaza, where Israeli military operations have systematically flattened entire neighborhoods over two years of conflict. The Sderot viewpoint has ironically become a tourist attraction for Israelis observing the devastation in real-time.
Organizers distributed traditional Hanukkah pastries as supporters arrived from West Bank settlements and within Israel. The gathering featured speeches from right-wing politicians and settler leaders who declared Gaza part of their “ancestral inheritance” that must be permanently reclaimed. The only dissent came from a small group of left-wing activists from the Standing Together movement, who briefly stormed the stage with shirts proclaiming “We are not returning to Gaza.”
Settler leader Daniella Weiss asserted that raising Israeli flags in Gaza represented a rejection of international dictates, particularly criticizing potential Turkish or Qatari involvement in postwar governance. The event occurred despite the defense ministry denying permission for activists to physically cross into Gaza, though reports indicate dozens of settlers later breached the border fence at other locations to plant flags.
Multiple speakers employed the term “voluntary migration” to describe the desired removal of Palestinians from Gaza—a euphemism for ethnic cleansing. Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech stated that achieving this outcome merely required Israeli “will,” while settler Yehoshua Sokol argued international borders remain fluid “until the next war.”
The demonstration revealed growing tensions within Israel’s right-wing coalition regarding Gaza’s future, with settlers pressuring the government to resist international agreements and pursue permanent territorial control through population transfer.