For three weeks, the extremist settlement movement Nachala has set up a temporary camp in the Simhoni forest, three kilometers from the Gaza Strip, with the aim of entering the Palestinian enclave. Their fate could depend on the next government that will be formed following the legislative elections of October 27.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 16:43 Modified on: 06/11/2026 - 16:47

On the night of October 15 to 16, 2026, activists from Nachala, a far-right Israeli settler organization, built, in a few hours, an outpost a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip. In one night, the members of the organization established a camp comprising mobile homes and tents where around twenty families settled.

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“The provisional site of the ‘Pioneers of Gaza’ has taken another important step towards the creation of a full-fledged colony in Gaza,” declares Reut Ben Kemoun, one of the figures of the Nachala movement, in a video republished by Settlers from Within, an X account which records the violence of settlers against the Palestinian populations.

With this temporary encampment, the objective for these militants is to re-establish settlements in the Gaza Strip. This is not the first outpost created near the enclave. In September 2025, around fifty people from the Nachala organization occupied a vacant lot in Shave Darom, near the Gaza Strip, with the same objective.

The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, defends the establishment of security control without calling for the recolonization of the enclave while his ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich clearly display their wish to recolonize Gaza.

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The camp is located in the heart of the Simhoni forest, located just three kilometers from Gaza, not far from kibbutz Kfar Aza in the Negev province.

The Observers editorial staff geolocated the outpost and obtained satellite images dating from October 22, 2026, demonstrating the presence of installations with a large blue tent, symbol of the Nachala movement camps.

While waiting for “the installation in the heart of the Gaza Strip”

To attract potential visitors, the Nachala organization launched a communications operation. The invitation below, posted online by a resident of the camp on Celebrate the creation of this temporary place while waiting for “the installation in the heart of the Gaza Strip”.

On social networks, Nachala activists regularly publish images of their life in the camp. They can be seen doing gardening.

But also prepare meals.

Or nighttime festivities.

An organization sanctioned eight times by the European Union

The extremist organization Nachala is not new and is well known to associations working against the colonization of Palestinian lands.

“Nachala has been an active organization for a decade. Their main activity is establishing settlements and outposts in the West Bank and putting pressure on the government. Since October 7, 2023, [its members] have been preparing and advocating to establish a settlement in Gaza,” explains Hagit Ofran, who works for the “Settlement Watch” project of the Israeli NGO Peace Now.

Founded by far-right pro-settlement activist Daniella Weiss, Nachala made headlines when it set up an illegal encampment called “Evyatar” on the territory of the Palestinian town of Beita, in the north of the West Bank. First established in 2013, the outpost was legalized and established as a colony by the Netanyahu government in June 2024. This facility remains illegal under international law.

Supported by the Israeli far right, the outpost received visits from political representatives such as Limor Son Har-Melech, vice speaker of the Knesset and member of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. She had already participated in an operation carried out by Nachala aimed at crossing the border of the Gaza Strip in February 2026.

For its illegal occupation activities, the Nachala organization is the subject of eight European sanctions. She is notably accused of "playing a role in facilitating and encouraging coercive acts leading to the forced displacement of Palestinians."

The outpost located in the Simhoni forest has, for the moment, not received authorization from the government to establish itself permanently. In Israel, forest areas are largely managed by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), an organization linked to the Zionist movement.

Questioned by the Observers editorial staff, the FNJ claimed to have filed a complaint with “the police and local authorities”. According to the Israeli news site Ynet, police are preparing to evacuate activists from Nachala. The latter would have affirmed "not to oppose the evacuation" while announcing their intention to "move elsewhere until reaching Gaza".

In a video broadcast on November 4 on the Instagram account dedicated to the projects of the "Pioneers of Gaza", Reut Ben Kemoun, still on site, reaffirms his project and announces the holding of a conference entitled "The Overthrow of Gaza 2", on November 19, 2026.

An uncertain future, conditioned by the new government

For Hagit Ofran of Peace Now, the urgency does not lie in the evacuation of the camp, but in the threat it represents for the integrity of the Palestinian territory.

“There is a threat that Israel will allow a colony to be established in Gaza, specifically because the government has created this situation where Israel has enormous control over the Gaza Strip (...) They have destroyed this territory so much that it is now empty and ready for colonization. So there is a serious threat that Nachala will establish a colony, but she cannot do it without the support of the government,” she explains.

Thus, the last legislative elections, which were held on October 27, could have a considerable impact on the future of the Palestinian territories. Benjamin Netanyahu's camp, made up of the right and the pro-settlement far right, obtained 53 seats against 48 for the centrist opposition bloc, led by Gadi Eisenkot. While the outgoing government has lost the support of the ultra-Orthodox party, the centrist camp, supported by the Arab parties, having obtained an unprecedented 19 seats in the Knesset, is in a good position to form the next government.

Although he is against the formation of a Palestinian state, Gadi Eizenkot has shown his opposition to the project of recolonization of the Gaza Strip. Thus, the future of the outpost established by Nachala remains uncertain. “The next government may have a very different policy. Perhaps they will be pushed to stay or, on the contrary, to abandon,” specifies Hagit Ofran. Before concluding: “It’s very difficult to know what they are going to do.”

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