Smotrich urges ramping up West Bank, Gaza settlements, pushing Palestinians out
At conference, Religious Zionism leader says Palestinians who insist on statehood should be encouraged to emigrate to an Arab state; other coalition members urge Israeli sovereignty from Jordan River to sea
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 called Sunday for Israel to effectively annex the West Bank and Gaza Strip, calling for the establishment of new settlements deep inside Palestinian areas and the departure of Arabs harboring nationalist aspirations.
The comments from the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party marked the latest instance of one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political allies urging the re-establishment of Israeli settlements inside the Gaza Strip while reversing the country’s 2005 withdrawal from the enclave.
Addressing the Middle East Summit, a conference in Jerusalem organized by Israel 365, an Israeli media outlet aimed at American evangelicals, Smotrich described repeated attempts to reach a two-state solution as wrongheaded, urging they be abandoned and replaced by an “unequivocal Israeli statement to the Arabs and the entire world that a Palestinian state will not be established.”
The figurative statement, he argued, would come via “the establishment of new cities and settlements deep in the [West Bank]” housing hundreds of thousands of new settlers.
In Gaza, where Israel has fought a year-long war to topple the Hamas terror group but has yet to determine how the Strip will be governed, Smotrich also called for Israeli sovereignty to be extended, claimed that its war gains would dissipate without troops, and civilians, being posted there on a more permanent basis.
“Where there is no civilian presence, there is no long-term military presence… there is no security and there is an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, and we must not allow this,” he said.
He indicated that the October 7, 2023 massacre carried out by Hamas could have been prevented had Israeli troops and settlements still been inside the Strip.
In his remarks, Smotrich envisioned Palestinians being given limited local self-rule “devoid of national characteristics,” saying those who continued to support Palestinian statehood would be unwelcome.
“Those who do not want or are unable to put aside their national ambitions will receive assistance from us to emigrate to one of the many Arab countries where the Arabs can realize their national ambitions, or to any other destination in the world,” he said.
Smotrich was one of several government ministers who attended an event last week calling for the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza. During the conference, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that “encouraging emigration” of Palestinian residents of the territory was the best and “most ethical” solution to the conflict.
Other coalition politicians at the Israel 365 event also rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood. Gideon Sa’ar, who recently joined the coalition as a minister without portfolio and is considered next in line to become defense minister, told attendees that Israel must abandon any policy based on concessions and “put up a political iron wall” against international efforts for a two-state solution.
“There… will never be any substitute for full operational Israeli military control of the territory from the sea to the Jordan,” the New Hope chairman asserted.
“We must recognize that there can be only Jewish sovereignty between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea,” agreed Religious Zionism MK Ohad Tal, one of the organizers of the conference.
“Some will say this is not realistic and we respond that the two-state scenario has itself proven to be a dangerous delusion. Others will say that the world will not permit it and we respond that once the Jewish people is determined that this is the right way, no obstacle is too great to be overcome,” he said.
Despite suggesting moves that would likely deepen Israel’s international isolation, both Smotrich and Sa’ar said Jerusalem could expand regional partnerships. Both mentioned Saudi Arabia, which has insisted that moves toward Palestinian statehood accompany any normalization.
Smotrich claimed that Israel’s war gains would woo Riyadh, so long as Jerusalem and the West joined together to overthrow the Iranian regime.
Sa’ar suggested regional alliances could shift, noting that Turkey and Iran used to be Israel’s allies while Egypt and Jordan were adversaries. But he also cautioned that Sunni states in Israel’s corner could abandon it.
“Our set of expectations from our relationships with them must be realistic and grounded in reality,” he said.
According to Sa’ar, as a national and religious minority in the region, Israel ought to work to strengthen ties with groups such as the Kurds and Druze.
With some 40 million people split between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, the Kurds are “one of the largest nations in the world without their own state” but Israel’s cooperation with them remains limited, he argued, stating that Israel has an interest in deepening both security and political ties.
Moreover, he added, the Druze minority in Lebanon and Syria are both threatened by Iran and ISIS-affiliated groups, creating opportunities for Jerusalem.
Regarding Syria, Sa’ar said that the country must not be allowed to be used as a supply route for Iranian weapons being sent to Hezbollah, and “Israel must make it clear to Assad that if he chooses to harm Israel’s security… he is putting his regime in danger.”
