Jewish settlers hope to return to Gaza
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Transcript
00:00 In this part of the West Bank settlement of Mevor Heron, the streets are named for the
00:04 former Israeli settlements in Gaza.
00:07 This is now home to Nirel Friedman, one of 8,000 Jewish settlers evacuated from Gaza
00:13 almost 20 years ago.
00:16 In his garden, Nirel has planted the seed of an olive tree from Gaza.
00:20 Then he was 20, now a reservist in the Israeli army.
00:25 He hopes the current military operation in Gaza will allow him to return.
00:30 "Yes, I want to go back.
00:33 And more than that, I think it should happen and that it's only just.
00:37 If you ask me what is Gush Katif, it's my home, a home I miss a lot.
00:42 I want to go back."
00:44 In his living room, an entire wall is dedicated to memories of Gaza.
00:51 Under international law, these Jewish settlements were not legal.
00:55 When Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it destroyed almost everything it had built there.
01:02 "I think the withdrawal cut society in two.
01:07 Those who said it would bring peace and that everything would be fine, and that the others
01:10 who said that if we left Gush Katif, the Palestinians would fire rockets all over the country."
01:17 For many Jewish settlers, the evacuation from Gaza is an enduring trauma.
01:22 Under this tent, volunteers gather supplies, including US donations for the Israelis evacuated
01:29 from the south after the Hamas attack on October 7.
01:33 The teenagers here are exhilarated by Israel's military response in Gaza.
01:39 "The people of Israel think that Hamas is the only thing stopping us, but that's not
01:47 true.
01:48 It's not just Hamas, it's everyone in Gaza.
01:50 They all hate us.
01:51 It doesn't matter if they're in Hamas or not."
01:53 But for many in the international community, Israel's occupation of Palestinian land is
01:59 an obstacle to the two-state solution to this conflict.