Israel’s Once-Fringe Movement to Reoccupy Gaza Gains Momentum

Military success in the Gaza Strip is lending momentum to a once-fringe idea in Israel: reoccupying the Palestinian enclave and repopulating it with Jewish settlers.

A year after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, more mainstream Israeli politicians say that only a constant Israeli presence can prevent such attacks in the future. They say that the decision to withdraw soldiers and evict settlers from Gaza in 2005, after nearly four decades of occupation, allowed the strip to become a launchpad for attacks against Israel. 

“When we retreated from areas, we learned that we get more terror,” said Osher Shekalim, a junior Israeli lawmaker who is among a small faction in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party embracing resettlement of Gaza. 

It is an idea that faces vehement opposition from Palestinians, and that the U.S. and the international community say would violate international law. Most Israelis still oppose reoccupying Gaza, polls show, including Netanyahu, who has said he has no interest in the idea.