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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Extremist Israeli politicians
and right-wing settlers hold Gaza annexation conference</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Nadav
Rapaport</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">July 22, 2025</div>
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<p>Extremist <a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">Israeli</a> politicians and
right-wing settlers held a conference in Israel's
parliament on Tuesday where they said the <a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/us"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">US</a> 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 <a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">Palestinians</a>.</p>
<p>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".</p>
<p>"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".</p>
<p>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".</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"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'".</p>
<p>There was no immediate comment from the US on
Smotrich's remarks. </p>
<p>The idea of turning Gaza into the "Riviera of the
Middle East" was first floated by US President
Donald Trump earlier this year.</p>
<p>The plan has been criticised by regional and
international heads of state, including leaders from
Spain, France and China.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h3>'A thirst for return'</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"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".</p>
<p>"There is a thirst for return among the public. Not
as a punishment, but because Jews belong to the Gaza
Strip," she added.</p>
<div>
<p><a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-extermination-what-your-last-thought-when-youre-starving-death"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/palestine-gaza-malnutrition-bureij-april-2025-eyad-baba-afp.jpg.webp?itok=vWWuk23N"
width="400" height="250" alt=""
class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"
moz-do-not-send="true">
</a></p>
<p>Gaza extermination: What is your last thought
when you're starving to death?</p>
<p><a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-extermination-what-your-last-thought-when-youre-starving-death"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">Read More
»</a>
</p>
</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Since the October 7 attacks, far-right groups and
lawmakers have repeatedly talked up plans to
re-establish the illegal settlements in Gaza.</p>
<p>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".</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Israel also faces a genocide case at the
International Court of Justice for its war on the
enclave.</p>
<p>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".</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<h3>Right-wing groups present detailed plans for Gaza</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The head of the settler Nachala movement, Daniella
Weiss, said: "The Arab Gaza chapter is over."</p>
<p>"In Gaza, there will never be an Arab,
international or American government," she said.</p>
<p>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".</p>
<p>"Gaza is difficult to conquer because of its
sanctity, but the day of the occupation of Gaza is
coming."</p>
<p>Weiss's fellow Nachala member, Lital Slonim,
presented the movement's detailed plan for Jewish
settlement.</p>
<div>
<p><a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-playbook-israel-five-step-ethnic-cleansing-strategy"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/A%20woman%20and%20children%20react%20as%20people%20mourn%20Palestinians%20killed%20in%20Israeli%20strikes%2C%20at%20Nasser%20hospital%2C%20in%20Khan%20Younis%2C%20in%20the%20southern%20Gaza%20Strip%2C%20April%209%2C%202025-reuters.jpg.webp?itok=DxxCKcRg"
width="400" height="250" alt=""
class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"
moz-do-not-send="true">
</a></p>
<p>The Gaza playbook: Israel's five-step ethnic
cleansing strategy</p>
<p><a
href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-playbook-israel-five-step-ethnic-cleansing-strategy"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">Read More
»</a>
</p>
</div>
<p>"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."</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"The right of the people of Israel to the Gaza
Strip is the same as to Jerusalem, Hebron and Tel
Aviv," the plan states.</p>
<p>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".</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
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