On the border of Gaza today, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud) called for Jews to “settle in all the regions of land granted to our forefathers, to show our enemies that it’s not worth messing with us, to show a meaningful picture of victory,” as reported by the Times of Israel. Addressing radical Jewish settlers who had, in their “March of Thousands,” largely ignored the IDF’s “closed military zone,” Karhi said that we should “plant deep roots in every land granted to our forefathers, including the Gaza region.” Four or more IDF checkpoints were breached by the settlers.
The Nachala settlers movement claimed that they had organized a total of 28 cabinet members and legislators to attend today’s event. TOI reported four Knesset members were confirmed to be there and that, besides Karhi, four more ministers—Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Nir Barkat, and Amichay Eliyahu—were scheduled. Smotrich appeared this morning, congratulating marchers.
Nachala was set up in 2005 by Daniella Weiss and Rabbi Moshe Levinger, leaders of Gush Emunim. They followed Rabbi Abraham Kook’s teachings, including that the coming of the messiah can be moved up in time by Jews settling on land they claim was promised in the Bible. Their “National Fund for the Building of Eretz Israel” has received funding from “Americans for a Safe Israel” and has funded outposts in the West, beyond even what Israel’s government officially approves. Settlers in the West Bank have regularly received support from Nachala. In May 2025, the UK accused Nachala of “facilitating, inciting, promoting and providing logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts and forced displacement of Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
