National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was showing some openness to the idea of encouraging Palestinian migration from Gaza.
In an interview with Army Radio, the hardline lawmaker also expressed support for reestablishing Jewish settlements in Gaza, calling it a fitting response to the October 7 Hamas-led massacre.
"After all, we must remember that this could be the greatest punishment for what was done to us on Oct. 7," he said. "The only times we have won over our enemies was when we took territory from them.
"Conquering Gaza is definitely an idea, but I must admit it would not be enough for me. We should encourage migration and I think Palestinians should be able to leave willingly to their countries."
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He said he saw a man in Gaza begging on television to be allowed to leave. "I think there are many like him. I am working hard to convince the prime minister that this should happen and am beginning to see some openness. I hope he will eventually understand that this is the only way," Ben-Gvir said.
However, a senior official dismissed the notion of Jewish settlement in Gaza, despite calls from Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party during a visit to the Gaza border last week. Goldknopf had advocated for rebuilding settlements in the coastal enclave, an idea also championed by settlers and their allies within the government.
Settlers push into Gaza in an attempt to establish new settlements
Right-wing lawmakers and ministers are working on legislation to repeal the 2005 disengagement law, which led to the evacuation of all settlements and Israeli troops from Gaza. The law’s reversal, proponents argue, would pave the way for the establishment of new Jewish communities in the territory.
The 2005 withdrawal transferred Gaza to Palestinian Authority control, but Hamas forcibly ousted the PA in 2007 and has ruled the region since. Critics of the settlement push warn that such moves could escalate tensions and complicate the already fraught security situation.