After a ninth past, Gaza displacement and West Bank annexation

Suleiman Abu Arshid

In full alignment with his personal and party interests as viewed by the Zionist movement — whose completion he celebrates in the same register as the founders led by David Ben-Gurion — he receives strong support, second only to the backing Britain gives the religious movement. Proud of its victories in Lebanon and Iran, it is moving in a different direction. According to Smotrich’s plan, this is intended to consolidate Israeli control over all of historic Palestine and extend its dominance across the Arab region.

In this context, a small segment of youth has rallied to the change after being praised, and he insists on implementing a new plan for Gaza approved by his government, despite warnings from the army chief and experts and politicians about its potentially catastrophic effects on the population — including the further dimming of cultural and creative life, the loss of distinguished figures and leaders, and impacts on reservist protests and economic exhaustion.

The giant scheme for Gaza was unveiled alongside a revived proposal called the “Gaza Riviera.” The Washington Post reported on a document presented to the new administration proposing the “temporary transfer” of all Gaza residents (more than two million people) and turning the enclave into a zone administered by an international organization under global oversight, with headquarters described as AI-driven. The proposal offered incentives for Palestinians to relocate to a state or to “other safe areas” and listed such incentives over a period of just five days — including assistance covering costs such as four years’ rent and one year of food.

Some American and Greek Zionists involved in construction reportedly hoped this would lead to a new, permanent decision. But past operations and previous displacement plans were broken by the resilience and resistance of Gaza’s residents, which thwarted the “Gaza Riviera” plan and relegated it to the dustbin of history.

On Wednesday, Smotrich presented himself as a fighter operating in parallel with liberal rhetoric, calling for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and unveiling a plan — backed publicly by name — that would assert Israeli sovereignty over 82% of West Bank territory. He said: “No settlement blocs, no Areas C, because all of them would leave occupied land to the enemy and give it the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state, God forbid, which would be broader than a state and leave us within Auschwitz-like borders,” calling it a “security necessity” and saying it has “broad backing in the Knesset and among the public.”

As is well known, Smotrich does not limit himself to paper plans. Since consoling protesters and particularly since October 7, he has moved to deploy armed militant groups protected by the army into Palestinian areas, including Area C and elsewhere, where they have carried out arson and closures, spreading terror among residents. This, critics say, is part of a systematic methodology aimed at controlling larger tracts of land while reducing the resident population.

Smotrich, Ben Gvir and other figures of the far-right camp all agree that success depends on Gaza: unless Gaza is broken, they will not achieve their aims of large-scale displacement, ideological domination and the other objectives tied to removing Gaza’s population and ensuring control over the territory.

Experts, however, doubt the prospects of uprooting Palestinian fighters and expelling civilians. They warn that such an operation could turn the city into a “death trap” for soldiers and hostages and that Palestinian resistance led by Hamas would endure even if Gaza were heavily damaged. In this context, General Yitzhak Brik called the Gaza plan imposed on two-thirds of the army by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir “absurd,” saying Hamas operates from tunnel networks that stretch for kilometers and that any entry into Gaza would confront command centers and entrenched infrastructure — with heavy responsibilities and consequences for those involved.