IDF forces in Gaza
IDF forces in GazaIDF Spokesperson

Senior Chabad Rabbis in Israel sent a letter to the members of the War Cabinet stating that the areas in Gaza that were handed over to the enemy during the Disengagement must be inhabited.

Among other things, the rabbis wrote that when using the term “territories handed over to the enemy,” they mean the Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip that were given as part of the Disengagement plan.

"The territories given to the enemy must be resettled as Jewish communities, as a response to the horrific massacre on Simchat Torah," they wrote.

The rabbis also wrote that one should not give in to the US demands on the security aspect, but on the other hand, they should end the war quickly and without endangering the soldiers and proceed "only according to pure military considerations", according to the letter.

The letter is signed by senior Chabad rabbis in Israel, including a senior and top Chabad rabbi in Israel and around the world, Rabbi Yitzchak Yehuda Yaroslavsky, who serves as the head of the Chabad Court, and Rabbi Moshe Havlin, a member of the rabbinical court and Rabbi of Kiryat Gat.

According to them, their letter is based on the Lubavitch Rebbe's instructions throughout all of Israel's wars since the Six Day War.