Smotrich says Gaza to be ‘totally destroyed,’ population ‘concentrated’ in small area
Ultranationalist minister says population will be ‘totally despairing’ and want to leave the Strip, also predicts West Bank will be annexed before end of government’s term
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich shared his vision for the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, predicting that within half a year, the population of the territory would be confined to just a narrow swath of land, with the remainder of the enclave “totally destroyed.”
In remarks at a “Settlements Conference” organized by the Makor Rishon newspaper in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, Smotrich also declared that Israel would “apply sovereignty” in the West Bank within the lifetime of the current government, which is due to expire in October 2026, unless elections are called earlier.
“Within a few months, we will be able to declare that we have won. Gaza will be totally destroyed,” Smotrich said. “In another six months, Hamas won’t exist as a functioning entity.”
He told the listening audience that the population of Gaza, some 2.3 million Palestinians, would be “concentrated” in a narrow strip of land between the Egyptian border and the so-called Morag Corridor, which runs the width of Gaza between Khan Younis and the border city of Rafah.
The area would be a “humanitarian” zone, the Religious Zionism leader said, “absent of Hamas and terrorism.”
The rest of the Strip, he added, “will be empty.”
He did not elaborate how confining all of Gaza’s war-battered population into a narrow strip without the ability to leave would be a humanitarian act, but added: “They will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.”
Smotrich has been an ardent advocate of building new Jewish settlements in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led atrocities in southern Israel and the outbreak of the war, as well as “encouraging” the emigration of Gaza’s civilian population out of the territory.
Turning to the West Bank, the finance minister lauded a plan to construct roads that will redirect and separate Israeli and Palestinian traffic in the area.
The roads will link Jerusalem with Ma’ale Adumim while providing an alternative route for Palestinian traffic to bypass Israeli checkpoints, creating two separate lanes for vehicles from the Israeli and Palestinian security envelopes, which currently use a single lane.
While championed by Israel as a way to reduce congestion and tighten security, the plan will divert Palestinian drivers from the E1 area, where Israel is controversially moving forward with settlement construction in steps toward annexing Ma’ale Adumim.
The area is viewed by Palestinians as strategically significant for maintaining the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state.
Acknowledging this, Smotrich told the conference that the new construction in the E1 area “is how we kill the de facto Palestinian state.”
“It will happen this term,” he said of plans to annex the West Bank. “It is one of our most important challenges. We are at a historic opportunity.”
Smotrich has frequently faced backlash for his remarks about the Gaza Strip and the war against Hamas, with the families of the hostages abducted during the October 7 onslaught accusing him of prioritizing territorial gains over the lives of their loved ones.
Last month, he drew outrage from the families of the hostages after he said that bringing the remaining 59 hostages back from Gaza was “not the most important” goal of the war, and was instead secondary to the aim of destroying Hamas.
Then, on Monday, the ultranationalist minister insisted that Israel would not cede territory captured in the Gaza Strip, even if doing so could secure the release of hostages, and urged Israelis to embrace “occupation.”
“We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation,'” he had said, and added that after occupying the Strip, “we can talk about sovereignty.”
The Times of Israel Community.