Israeli Ministers Join March Calling for Settlements in Gaza, Expulsion of Palestinians

Members of the Israeli government joined thousands of Israelis in a march in southern Israel on Tuesday led by far-right activists calling for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and the expulsion of Palestinians.

The march commemorated the 76th anniversary of the day Israel celebrates its Independence Day, known as the Nakba, or catastrophe, to the Palestinians as more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes to create the modern state of Israel in 1948.

Joining the march in the Israeli city of Sderot were two ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party.