Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) on Thursday morning said that he would support Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, if there were Israelis who wished to live there.
Speaking in an interview to Kol Barama Radio, Goldknopf said that he would attend a conference on the subject of Jewish settlement in Gaza, and said that he would support the option of settling Jews there.
"I will not stand opposed if there are people who want to live there," he told the radio station.
Regarding his support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said, "We cannot slap Netanyahu during wartime. We must offer support to the government, and now we need to gather around it. What will happen on the 'day after?' We have not changed our position, and the story will not be about the number of Knesset seats this candidate or that candidate has. The Torah Sages will make the decision."
Regarding haredi society's attitude towards IDF soldiers, he said, "The soldiers are not a different nation. It could be that even before the war, we needed to find a common language with them."
Regarding mutual responsibility in haredi society during the war, he said, "Nearly 100,000 people are praying for the hostages at the Western Wall. This is not something that happened in the past, it is an amazing event, it's a big change and it shows the mutual responsibility shared by all parts of society, and it shows unity."
"I do not accept the claim that the haredi public is disconnected," he added. "Every place I go, I hear praise for the holy activities of the kindness and rescue organizations, which have brought about great unity amongst the nation."