JERUSALEM: Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday called on the government to begin annexing parts of the Gaza Strip if Palestinian militant group Hamas stands by its refusal to lay down its weapons.
The far-right minister, who has vocally opposed striking a deal with Hamas to end the nearly two-year war, presented his plan to “win in Gaza by the end of the year” at a press conference in Jerusalem.
Under Smotrich’s proposal, Hamas would be given an ultimatum to surrender, disarm and release the hostages still held in Gaza since the group’s October 2023 attack that triggered the war.
If Hamas refuses, Smotrich said Israel should annex a section of the territory each week for four weeks, bringing most of the Gaza Strip under full Israeli control.
According to Smotrich, Palestinians would first be told to move south in Gaza, followed by Israel imposing a siege on the territory’s north and center to defeat any remaining Hamas militants there, and ending with annexation.
