Israeli Minister of Finance Betzalel Smotrich announced Sunday that Israel plans to create a “special Emigration Administration” to support President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans.
“We are creating a special Emigration Administration,” Smotrich said during a meeting of the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus. “In order for the tremendous price our nation has paid and their tremendous determination not to devolve into yet another round of fighting the same war again, we must grab this opportunity with both hands, adopt the plan that has been floated by the US President.”
The authority is being prepared under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Minister of Defense Israel Katz, according to Smotrich, who added that “budgetary constraints will not stand in the way.”
The authority’s first task will be working with the Trump administration to identify countries to absorb Gazans. Smotrich noted that such a plan would be complicated because even if 5,000 people were relocated each day, it would still take a year for emigration to be completed.
“The logistics are complicated because we have to know who the émigré’s are, where each one is going, what the needs are, and more,” he said.
More than 100 participants discussed and proposed practical steps to execute Trump’s plan for voluntary Gazan emigration and promote long-term stability in the region during the Knesset caucus session titled, “The New Middle East: The Plan for Voluntary Migration from Gaza.”
“Things that seemed impossible for many years are now completely legitimate topics for policy initiatives,” Caucus co-chair MK Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein said during the session. “We must not squander the opportunity to take the right steps toward the new Middle East we are discussing. I am pleased that we have convened to think together about the ways to build implementable programs that once seemed beyond imagination.”
Co-chair MK Simcha Rothman called Trump’s plan a “common sense revolution.”
“Time is of the essence and the clock is ticking; we must speak loudly and clearly in positive language — not only what must not be, but what must be,” Rothman said, adding that those who act against Trump’s plan for emigration are “collaborating with Hamas.”
MK Limor Son-Har-Melech, who is also a co-chair of the caucus, called for “large-scale Jewish settlement of Gaza, the restoration of Jewish life there, Jewish children once again playing in the streets of Gaza.”
Trump previously said he does not support Israel building settlements in Gaza again, because he thinks Gaza isn’t a place for anyone to live until the reconstruction plan is complete. Several Jewish settlements were present in Gaza until 2005, when Israel removed 8,600 Israeli residents from their homes as part of its disengagement from Gaza.
Other participants included Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Smotrich, Minister of Settlement Affairs and National Projects MK Orit Strock, and former Minister of National Security MK Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Strock said that even if Hamas is subdued in Gaza, the strip still poses a threat to Israel.
“Even if we subdue Hamas as a civil and military leadership, so long as we do not enable the majority of the population of Gaza to emigrate we will not remove the threat,” Strock said. “That is what we must do and I say as a member of the government and the cabinet — this government will take responsibility.”
Israel Ganz, who heads the Binyamin Regional Council in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank, called for Hamas members in his area to be removed because of the security risk.
“This is a historic moment for the State of Israel: We have an American president in office who is encouraging us to think out of the box,” Ganz said. “We don’t need any other suggestions — we need only to get to work! The time has come for the Israeli government to take active steps toward implementing President Trump’s vision.”
Ben Gvir, who has become the boogeyman to Western media due to his hawkish, right-wing views, pointed out that he has proposed the plan before Trump.
“Since the beginning of the war, I have said repeatedly that the only ‘day after’ solution for the Gaza Strip is to encourage voluntary emigration,” he said. “At first I was ridiculed, but today it is clear to everyone that this is the only realistic solution. Encouraging voluntary emigration is the order of the day. Government of Israel — Forward, to action!”
The Knesset Land of Israel Caucus is the largest in Israel’s parliament, with 80 Knesset members.
Israel cut off electricity to Gaza following Hamas ignoring a Saturday deadline to release more of the 59 hostages still in captivity.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen stated on Sunday, adding on X, “I have now signed an order to cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately. Enough with the talk, it’s time for action!”
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