[News] Extremist Israeli politicians and right-wing settlers hold Gaza annexation conference

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net 
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-politicians-right-wing-settlers-hold-gaza-annexation-conference> 



  Extremist Israeli politicians and right-wing settlers hold Gaza
  annexation conference

Nadav Rapaport
July 22, 2025
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Extremist Israeli <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel> 
politicians and right-wing settlers held a conference in Israel's 
parliament on Tuesday where they said the US 
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/us> had given them the "green 
light" to transform the besieged Gaza Strip into a "resort town" once 
they had completed the ethnic cleansing of more than two million 
Palestinians <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine>.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel had 
received a "green light from the president of the United States to turn 
Gaza into a prosperous strip, a resort town with employment".

"We will occupy Gaza and make it an inseparable part of Israel," 
Smotrich told a few dozen attendees at the event titled "The Gaza 
Riviera - From Vision to Reality".

Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the defence ministry, said 
that "a proposed plan to relocate Gazans [Palestinians] to other 
countries will serve as a means of facilitating the settlement of the 
strip".

He also said that he backed the idea of a "security annexation" of 
northern Gaza, claiming that the Israeli military's chief of staff, Eyal 
Zamir, supported the idea.

"I truly believe there is a tremendous opportunity here," he said, 
suggesting that Israel begin "with the northern border [area of the 
Strip] and establish three communities there. We are already talking 
about it. Some call it a 'security annexation'".

There was no immediate comment from the US on Smotrich's remarks.

The idea of turning Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East" was first 
floated by US President Donald Trump earlier this year.

The plan has been criticised by regional and international heads of 
state, including leaders from Spain, France and China.

Despite this, the plan still has the backing of Israeli Prime Minister 
Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and other prominent 
members of Israel's Knesset.


      'A thirst for return'

Tuesday's event, which was mainly attended by Israeli settlers and 
supporters of religious Zionist parties, routinely erupted into cheers 
and standing ovations when the speakers called for the takeover of Gaza.

Right-wing Israeli politician Limor Son Har-Melech heaped praise on 
Israeli settlers and called them the successors of the Zionist leaders 
who established Israel in 1948.

"We need to rebuild the Gaza Strip with Jewish cities," Har-Melech said, 
adding that there needed to be "big and fortified cities all over Gaza".

"There is a thirst for return among the public. Not as a punishment, but 
because Jews belong to the Gaza Strip," she added.

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-extermination-what-your-last-thought-when-youre-starving-death>

Gaza extermination: What is your last thought when you're starving to death?

Read More » 
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-extermination-what-your-last-thought-when-youre-starving-death> 


In September 2005, Israel relocated its forces and 8,000 settlers from 
21 settlements in Gaza as part of a "disengagement plan" to the 
surrounding parts of Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Since the October 7 attacks, far-right groups and lawmakers have 
repeatedly talked up plans to re-establish the illegal settlements in Gaza.

Israeli politician Zvi Sukkot echoed Har-Melech's remarks and said 
Israel was facing a unique moment and had "the power" to implement 
Trump's "vision".

Israel has killed more than 59,100 Palestinians, most of them women and 
children, in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The military campaign 
has devastated the enclave, collapsed the healthcare system and led to 
severe food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants 
for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war 
crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice 
for its war on the enclave.

After the conference, Sukkot told Middle East Eye that Israel would not 
be "uprooting anyone from their homes", claiming "there is no forced 
deportation, Trump's plan does not talk about forced deportation".

"What Trump said was that eventually they would emigrate to countries 
where it would be good for them to live. They won't fight all the time," 
Sukkot said.


      Right-wing groups present detailed plans for Gaza

Despite his remarks, several of the conference speakers presented what 
they said was a clear future for Gaza - a land without Palestinians and 
a land only for Jews.

The head of the settler Nachala movement, Daniella Weiss, said: "The 
Arab Gaza chapter is over."

"In Gaza, there will never be an Arab, international or American 
government," she said.

Weiss, who last week refused to condemn the killing and starvation of 
Palestinian children on Piers Morgan's eponymous TV show, said that 
after Israel defeats Hamas, "the state of Israel will allow the 
emigration of Palestinians".

"Gaza is difficult to conquer because of its sanctity, but the day of 
the occupation of Gaza is coming."

Weiss's fellow Nachala member, Lital Slonim, presented the movement's 
detailed plan for Jewish settlement.

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-playbook-israel-five-step-ethnic-cleansing-strategy>

The Gaza playbook: Israel's five-step ethnic cleansing strategy

Read More » 
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-playbook-israel-five-step-ethnic-cleansing-strategy> 


"We are here to present a clear vision of how Gaza will become a 
flourishing place," Slonim said, adding: "This is one of the most 
beautiful areas in the State of Israel."

The Nachala movement has been building illegal settlements on land in 
the occupied West Bank for decades. Earlier this year, the International 
Court of Justice ruled that Israel's occupation of Palestinian 
territories since 1967 is unlawful and should end as soon as possible.

According to the Nachala plan, some 300,000 housing units will be built 
in the enclave, the vast majority of which are in two main residential 
areas in the northern and southern parts of the strip.

According to the plan, the area of the Gaza Strip would be populated by 
about 1.2 million Jews, who are expected to enjoy green spaces, 
transportation, industrial zones, hotels, a university and even a port.

"The right of the people of Israel to the Gaza Strip is the same as to 
Jerusalem, Hebron and Tel Aviv," the plan states.

Under the chapter "Civilian Migration as a Result of Wars - 
Implementation in the Gaza Region", it says that "the Gaza population 
has been revoked from the legitimacy to continue living in this area".

"The removal of the civilian population, by choice and/or within the 
framework of an arrangement, is a necessary stage for the evacuation of 
the battlefield and its transformation into a space of Jewish life, 
agriculture, industry, tourism and settlement," the plan says.

A similar plan was later presented titled: "The Way of the Sea - The 
Path to Victory" of the Gush Katif Residents' Forum. It was far more 
detailed and advocated for the construction of some 850,000 housing units.

"The vision of the prophets, as well as the vision of the president of 
the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, will be realised in a flourishing 
and prosperous Jewish settlement," the plan said.

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