From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 17, 2025
Smotrich says he will seek vote at today’s cabinet meeting to implement Trump’s Gaza takeover plan
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tells reporters that he will demand at today’s cabinet meeting that a vote be held on implementing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza takeover plan, while insisting that Israel must also adopt the US president’s demand that Hamas return all hostages immediately.
If Hamas fails to do so, “Israel will open the gates of hell: a complete occupation of the Gaza Strip, a complete cessation of aid — no water, no electricity, no fuel; the entire population will be moved to the Mawasi [humanitarian zone] and from there Israel will immediately begin the migration of Gaza’s residents to other countries,” he demands.
In addition, Smotrich says, Israel must annex the northern Gaza Strip, the Philadelphi Corridor in the south, and other strategically important areas in the enclave.
“It is either us or them. Either we will defeat Hamas or, God forbid, Hamas will defeat us,” Smotrich says, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return to war after the first phase of the ceasefire, “occupy ten percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip, establish full control over it, and apply Israeli sovereignty over it.”
