Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a “security annexation” of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, claiming that Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir also favors the idea.
Smotrich made the remarks at a Knesset conference called “The Gaza Riviera – from vision to reality,” at which participants presented plans for reestablishing Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
“I truly believe there is a tremendous opportunity here,” he said, suggesting that Israel begin “with the northern border and establish three communities there. We are already talking about it. Some call it a ‘security annexation.'”
He added, “The chief of staff said last week that there needs to be a security annexation.”
The conference took place as uncertainty persists regarding who will govern Gaza following Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas there. Smotrich and other far-right politicians have repeatedly called for Israel to take control of Gaza and reestablish settlements in the Strip. The conference’s name, and focus, played off of US President Donald Trump’s announcement in February that the US would take over Gaza, push the Palestinians living there to leave, and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Israel evacuated its Gaza settlements and withdrew its troops from the Strip in the 2005 disengagement, a process that conference organizers — MKs Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism) and Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) — hope to reverse. They aimed at presenting resettlement as a security benefit and as a Zionist and ethical response to the disengagement, as well as to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which started the war.
“We will occupy Gaza and make it an inseparable part of the State of Israel,” Smotrich said.
The IDF would not comment on Smotrich’s claim that Zamir supports annexation.
Attendees at the conference included government ministers, Knesset members, heads of regional councils, security personnel, bereaved families, relatives of hostages, researchers and activists. Speakers called for making the reestablishment of Jewish settlement in Gaza government policy.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel does not seek to resettle the enclave. Trump has tended in recent months to deemphasize his plan for a US takeover, which was rejected by Israel’s neighbors, much of the international community and politicians from both major US parties.
Following Trump’s announcement, a United Nations Human Rights Office spokesperson said it “raises concerns with regards to forcible transfer.” Arab leaders later endorsed a competing reconstruction plan for Gaza, proposed by Egypt, that would leave the Strip’s residents in place and see it governed by independent Palestinian technocrats.
On Tuesday, Smotrich claimed that his vision has Trump’s backing.
“We have great support from the president of the United States to turn Gaza into a prosperous strip, a resort town with employment,” he said, and continued to applause, “That’s how you make peace.”
Smotrich added that a proposed plan to relocate Gazans to other countries will serve as a means of facilitating Israel’s takeover of the Strip.
The conference drew criticism from opposition lawmakers. MK Gilad Kariv of the left-wing Democrats, in a post on X, accused Smotrich of “calling to commit war crimes.”
In February, weeks after proposing an American takeover of Gaza, Trump shared an AI-generated music video to his Truth Social platform showing what a Gaza “riviera” might look like. The colorful video included scenes such as Netanyahu and Trump lounging together in bathing suits on beach chairs.
On Tuesday afternoon, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel posted her own AI-generated video of what the enclave could look like following the “voluntary migration of Gazans.” She noted that she had proposed voluntary migration shortly after the October 7 attack and termed the idea the “Gamliel-Trump plan.”
The video included scenes of Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, as well as Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, walking on the beach of a rebuilt Gaza.