‘This is our land, we deserve it’: Dozens of Israelis planning to cross border and settle in Gaza

Published

9 months ago

October 22, 2024

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As the sun beats down on us near Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel, Avi looks out towards the place he really wants to live. It’s only two miles away and it shimmers in the sunshine.

“It would be our privilege,” he says, looking at his wife and three small children.

Their plan is to move to Gaza.

He’s not sure when it will be possible, but he’s hoping it will be soon, once it is safe to move in.

As if on cue, there is a boom as another shell is fired into Gaza from a nearby gun emplacement.

Avi is not alone.

Around us are dozens and dozens of Israelis who are keen to get into Gaza and claim the land as their own.

They have come to a conference on the resettlement of Gaza in Kibbutz Be’eri as a show of strength and determination. Many of them are couples with children.

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There is a tent where the youngsters are being entertained, a stall handing out drinks and a stage with speeches and music. People are making small talk in the shade of a pagoda.

There are lots of guns here, and the atmosphere is rich with a sense of frustration, entitlement and even excitement.

Reshit has come with her friends. She is the daughter of an Israeli soldier who spent months in Gaza and is now fighting in Lebanon. She is friendly, open, eloquent and utterly sure of herself.

So why would you want to live in Gaza?

“Because it’s our homeland,” she replies. “It says in the Torah that this is our home, this is our land, and we have every right to live there.

“So many soldiers have died in this. We have to keep doing what they started. They died for a reason. They started something. And I think it’s our duty for them and for their families to actually keep doing what they started.

“They sacrificed themselves for something so we have to sacrifice ourselves for that thing also.”

What, I ask, about the Palestinians who already live in Gaza? What should happen to them? She doesn’t miss a beat.

“We should kill them, every last one of them. And if the government won’t do that then we should just kick them out. This is our land. And we deserve it.”

Mass murder is not proposed by the other people we meet, at least not while talking to us, but the idea that the Palestinians should forego their land and be sent to other nations seems commonplace.

“Throughout history, countries who lose wars then lose their land,” I was told by a man called Boris, who says he is an activist for Likud, the political party of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Until recently, the idea of sending settlers into Gaza had very few supporters – a fringe proposal with almost no momentum.

Now right-wing politicians have jumped behind it with gusto as a growing sign of their determination not simply to beat Hamas, but to change the region.

And so, along with the would-be settlers, there are politicians here, lending their weight.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the outspoken minister of national security, turns up to lend his support, agreeing that Palestinians should be removed from Gaza.

Another VIP visitor is Ariel Kallner, an MP for Likud, who tells me that he is here to show his support for the settlers’ plans.

He insists that “total victory” in the war can only be achieved when settlers have set up a town in northern Gaza. In the distance, smoke rises over Gaza.

In a large tent to the side, a loudspeaker bursts into life.

Daniella Weiss takes to the stage to applause. Now a sprightly 79 years old, she has spent half a century encouraging settlers to set up communities in the West Bank.

She claims to have established more than 330 settlements and now, her focus is on Gaza.

“You know, it wasn’t easy. We have accumulated a lot of experience about how to do it politically, how to work with the politicians, how to work with the public, and how to encourage the pioneers to be able to settle in a place that is their land, but is also a difficult place to live in,” she says. “We can teach them how to cope.”

There is another commotion, this time in the neighbouring field. Counter-demonstrators have turned up and a line of police officers is separating them from the settlers. They’re chanting their opposition and waving banners.

Mickal Frucktman bristles with anger. She says she was shocked to see Likud politicians at the event because “I think that means the government supports this idea”.

“What they want to do is illegal and it’s going to cause incredible problems. It’s going to totally ruin Israel morally, if there’s any moral shred left. And there are still 101 hostages being held.”

She looks at the settlers; they look back. It’s hard to imagine any common ground between these two camps, any fellow feeling.

And from somewhere near, there is a boom as another shell is launched into Gaza.

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‘Horrific incident’ at sheriff training facility in LA – at least three people dead

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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'Horrific incident' at sheriff training facility in LA - at least three people dead

At least three people have been killed after a “horrific incident” at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department training facility, officials have said.

A spokesperson for the department said there was an explosion at the Biscailuz Center Academy Training in east LA.

The incident was reported at around 7.30am local time (3.30pm UK time).

Aerial footage from local channel KABC-TV suggests the blast happened in a parking lot filled with sheriff patrol cars and box trucks.

Attorney general Pam Bondi wrote on X: “I just spoke to @USAttyEssayli about what appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles.

“Our federal agents are at the scene and we are working to learn more.”

California congressman Jimmy Sanchez said the explosion had “claimed the lives of at least three deputies”.

“My condolences to the families and everyone impacted by this loss,” he said.

The attorney general said in a follow-up post that agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are “on the ground to support”.

The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, said the LAPD bomb squad has also responded to the scene.

“The thoughts of all Angelenos are with all of those impacted by this blast,” she said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the incident, his press office said in a post on X.

“The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is in contact with the Sheriff’s Department and closely monitoring the situation, and has offered full state assistance,” it added.

The cause of the explosion is being investigated.

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Unmasked: The 18 Russian spies who mounted series of attacks on UK

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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Unmasked: The 18 Russian spies who mounted series of attacks on UK

Dozens of Russian spies have been sanctioned by the government – including those responsible for targeting Yulia Skripal five years before her attempted murder in Salisbury.

The Foreign Office has announced that three units of the Russian military intelligence agency (GRU) have been hit with sanctions, alongside 18 military intelligence officers.

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GRU officers attempted to murder Yulia Skipal and her father Sergei using the deadly Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury.

The 18 military intelligence officers have been targeted because of a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity over many years, including in the UK, the Foreign Office said.

The government also accused the GRU of using cyber and information operations to “sow chaos, division and disorder in Ukraine and across the world”.

One of the groups sanctioned, Unit 26165, conducted online reconnaissance to help target missile strikes against Mariupol, including the bombing of Mariupol Theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were murdered.

Other military officers who have been sanctioned previously targeted Yulia Skripal’s mobile phone with malicious malware known as X-Agent.

The Skripals had moved to the UK after Sergei Skripal became a double agent, secretly working for the UK. He was tried for high treason and imprisoned in Russia – and later exchanged in a spy swap.

But five years after Yulia’s phone was targeted, the pair were poisoned with the nerve agent, Novichok, in Salisbury. Russia has always denied being involved in the chemical attack.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

“The Kremlin should be in no doubt: we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won’t tolerate it.”

He said the UK was taking “decisive action” with the sanctions against Russian spies.

“Putin’s hybrid threats and aggression will never break our resolve. The UK and our allies’ support for Ukraine and Europe’s security is ironclad.”

Those sanctioned today include:

Aleksandr Vladimirovich Osadchuk

Yevgeniy Mikhaylovich Serbriakov

Anatoliy Sergeyvich Kovalev

Artem Valeryvich Ochichenko

The 161st Specialist Training Centre (TsPS) (Unit 29155) of the GRU

Vladislav Yevgenyevich Borovkov

Nikolay Aleksandrovich Korchagin

Yuriy Federovich Denisov

Vitaly Aleksandrovich Shevchenko

Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov

Aleksey Viktorovich Lukashev

Sergey Sergeyevich Vasyuk

Andrey Eduardovich Baranov

Aleksey Sergeyevich Morenets

Sergey Aleksandrovich Morgachev

Artem Adreyevich Malyshev

Yuriy Leonidovich Shikolenko

Victor Borisovich Netyksho

Dmitriy Aleksandrovich Mikhaylov

African Initiative

Artyom Sergeevich Kureyev

Anna Sergeevna Zamaraeva

Victor Aleksandrovich Lukovenko

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Antarctica’s oldest ice arrives in UK for analysis on climate shifts

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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Antarctica's oldest ice arrives in UK for analysis on climate shifts

Antarctica’s oldest ice has arrived in the UK for analysis which scientists hope will reveal more about Earth’s climate shifts.

The ice was retrieved from depths of up to 2,800 metres at Little Dome C in East Antarctica as part of an international effort to “unlock the deepest secrets of Antarctica’s ice”.

The ice cores – cylindrical tubes of ancient ice – will be analysed at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge, with the ultimate goal of reconstructing up to 1.5 million years of Earth’s climate history, significantly extending the current ice core record of 800,000 years.

The research is also expected to offer valuable context for predicting future climate change, Dr Liz Thomas, head of the ice cores team at the British Antarctic Survey, said.

Over the next few years, the samples will be analysed by different labs across Europe to gain understanding of Earth’s climate evolution and greenhouse gas concentrations.

Dr Thomas said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be part of this international effort to unlock the deepest secrets of Antarctica’s ice.

“The project is driven by a central scientific question: why did the planet’s climate cycle shift roughly one million years ago from a 41,000-year to a 100,000-year phasing of glacial-interglacial cycles?

“By extending the ice core record beyond this turning point, researchers hope to improve predictions of how Earth’s climate may respond to future greenhouse gas increases.”

The ice was extracted as part of the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice project, which is funded by the European Commission and brings together researchers from 10 European countries and 12 institutions.

“Our data will yield the first continuous reconstructions of key environmental indicators-including atmospheric temperatures, wind patterns, sea ice extent, and marine productivity-spanning the past 1.5 million years,” Dr Thomas said.

“This unprecedented ice core dataset will provide vital insights into the link between atmospheric CO₂ levels and climate during a previously uncharted period in Earth’s history, offering valuable context for predicting future climate change.”