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Israel/Palestine

Israeli

(4,433 posts)

22. Smotrich says return of Jewish settlements to Gaza now realistic, 'needs to be much bigger' than before

Reply to Israeli (Reply #21)

Tue Jul 29, 2025, 05:29 AM

Tuesday

By Sam Sokol
Today, 11:51 am

Calling the Gaza Strip “an inseparable part of the Land of Israel,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that while returning to the settlements Israel left in 2005 had been “wishful thinking” for a long time, it is now a “realistic” option.

Addressing a conference at the Gush Katif Heritage Center marking two decades since the Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, the far-right minister says he does “not want to go back to Gush Katif — it’s too small, it needs to be much bigger, much more expansive.”

Gush Katif was the major bloc of Israeli settlements in Gaza before the Disengagement, housing some 8,500 people in 17 communities.

Source : https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/smotrich-says-return-of-jewish-settlements-to-gaza-now-realistic-needs-to-be-much-bigger-than-before/

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