By Younis Tirawi, Drop Site
On November 28, Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf visited the border of Gaza, accompanied by Daniella Weiss, the godmother of the Zionist settler movement, with the explicit goal of “scouting” sites for resettlement. Goldknopf posted a photo gazing through binoculars at the area. “Today I toured the Gaza Strip settlements,” Goldknopf tweeted, framing the expedition as retaliation for the ICC arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “Jewish settlement here is the answer to the terrible massacre and the answer to the International Criminal Court in The Hague who, instead of caring for the 101 hostages, chose to issue arrest warrants against the prime minister and the minister of defense.”
“The tour that took place today included a visit to several significant points of view, at the entrance to Tzir Netazir [the Netzarim corridor] – to understand the decisive importance of the place and its immediate readiness for Jewish settlement,” a post by Weiss’s Nachala Settler Movement detailed. Israel has conducted extensive demolitions in the Netzarim corridor that divides northern and central Gaza as the Israeli army works day and night to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians of northern Gaza. “The minister expressed his great appreciation for the dedication and joy of all partners and promised support and help as much as he can for the Jewish settlement in Gaza!”
In addition to the Israeli military conducting extensive demolitions, Drop Site News has uncovered that Israel has now contracted private companies specializing in settler construction to work in northern Gaza. One construction company confirmed it is hiring for operations in Beit Lahia, a town adjacent to the northern border of Gaza. This is the first time a private company has been documented working in the north.
The use of private contractors to conduct demolitions has been documented previously in Rafah by the company Meshek Afar. And the Asia Construction Company claims to have worked on the Gaza pier, and on the road along the Philadelphi Corridor. In May, a construction worker, Liron Yitzhak, was killed in southern Gaza while doing work for an unnamed company.
A job advertisement from Libi Construction and Infrastructure Ltd.—a settlement construction company registered in the illegal outpost of Shiloh near Ramallah—recently posted in a Facebook group named “reservists” to conduct demolitions in Gaza. But the use of private contractors enables civilian workers, not just Israeli reservists, to enter Gaza. “Looking for bulldozer operators for demolition work in Gaza,” the job description reads, “The job is also relevant for those who have not served in the army. Good pay.”
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