Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf conducted a tour today (Thursday) along the Netzarim route, focusing on potential Jewish settlement in the Gaza region.
He was accompanied by the "Nachala" movement and right-wing activist Daniella Weiss, who are advocating for Jewish settlement within the Gaza Strip.
"I toured the Gaza region settlements today. Jewish settlement here is our response to the terrible massacre and to the International Court in The Hague, which chose to issue orders against the Prime Minister and Defense Minister instead of concerning itself with our 101 hostages," Goldknopf stated.
Goldknopf, one of the government's strongest opponents of ultra-Orthodox military conscription, is not alone in the coalition in pushing for settlement within Gaza.
Earlier this week, at a Yesha Council conference, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich joined calls for applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria following Trump's election as U.S. president. "The two months from now until January are challenging and dangerous until Trump takes office. We can conquer Gaza and reduce its population by half within two years," Smotrich said.
He added "It is possible and necessary to conquer the Gaza Strip, we shouldn't be afraid of that word. The IDF will need to have 'boots on the ground' there to fight terrorism and maintain security, to prevent Gaza from being a threat to the State of Israel, not to control the civilian effort. Even if it costs some money - they told me it would cost five billion (shekels). At most a few hundred million. Even with five billion, I said I'll buy it now. Five billion spread over 50 years forward - I bought it in installments. This is what's needed to maintain Israel's security. But it doesn't even come close to these amounts."
He added, "The less we talk about it, the more we can do. Like in Judea and Samaria - an inverse relationship between talking vs actual action. It's a different world - all discussions about 'the day after' look different under complete Israeli control. We also need to bring back the hostages. But this is a huge key to Judea and Samaria - there will be voluntary emigration from Gaza, everyone understands there's a model."
Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman responded to the Housing Minister Goldknopf's statements on X: "Instead of [discussing] settling Gaza - go stand at the recruitment office and encourage yeshiva students to enlist in the IDF."
The "Free in Our Land" advocacy group quickly responded to Goldknopf's comments about Jewish settlement in Gaza: "Minister Goldknopf has revealed the true reason why the government isn't advancing a deal in Gaza. Instead of returning 101 hostages languishing in Hamas tunnels, the government is preparing the ground for Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and cooperating with settler extremists - promoting Gaza settlement in exchange for IDF draft dodging. The war is over, the excuses are finished - [We demand a] hostage deal now!"
During a joint press conference in Prague with his Czech counterpart, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar declared that Israel has no intentions of controlling civilian life in Gaza, while emphasizing that peace is "inevitable but cannot be based on illusions."
Sa'ar clarified that Israel's military campaign will conclude only when it achieves its two primary objectives: securing the return of all hostages and completely dismantling Hamas's governing capabilities in the Gaza Strip.
