Israel
Israeli ministers hint at annexation of parts of Gaza and West Bank if hostages are not released
Several MKs have suggested that if Hamas refuses to release October 7 hostages, the IDF could expand territorial control
March 24, 2025 12:44
Several MKs have suggested that if Hamas refuses to release October 7 hostages, the IDF could expand territorial control
March 24, 2025 12:44A number of senior Israeli ministers have hinted that the country could start to annex parts of both the Gaza Strip and West Bank if Hamas fails to release the remaining hostages.
Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich is among the policy’s key proponents, regularly advocating for the annexation of territory in the West Bank and Gaza.
Indeed, shortly before the Gaza ceasefire expired earlier this month, he suggested that Israel could begin expanding kibbutzim across the border if Hamas refused to release the remaining Israeli hostages.
But the collapse of the truce, renewal of fighting with Hamas, and rocket fire from southern Lebanon have seemingly brought annexation more prominence in the thinking of more mainstream officials.
Last week, Defence Minister Israel Katz, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud Party, said that he would order the IDF to seize more territory in Gaza for each day the hostages remained in captivity.
He said: “The more Hamas continues its refusal, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel.”
Katz also announced the creation of a new military directorate to encourage “voluntary emigration” of Gazans out of the Strip to a selection of third countries.
The agency is designed to implement US President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to relocate Gaza’s population to allow the territory to be redeveloped. But humanitarian organisations and several Arab states, including US-allied Saudi Arabia, have spoken out against the proposal.
Such voluntary emigration has long been a key policy of the far-right, with Smotrich previously suggesting that Gaza could be cleared out in as little as six months and saying that Israelis should then be allowed to move in and settle.
Elsewhere, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter (also a Likud member but formally a leadership candidate for the centrist Kadima Party) has suggested that Israel could also look to expand settlements and political control in the West Bank.
Speaking at a meeting with the heads of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organisation representing settlers, he said: “We’re at a crucial historic opportunity that must not be missed; the time has come to apply Israeli sovereignty over [the West Bank].
"Fortunately, I find a serious partner in the Yesha Council for the long-term plans we are leading.
"[The West Bank] can stand at the forefront of Israeli agriculture. But to achieve this... the communities must be allowed to manage land and agricultural resources just like anywhere else in the country.
"One of our main challenges stems from the fact that Israeli law does not apply to [the West Bank]. The time has come to apply sovereignty – the moment is ripe.”
He also stated that his ministry’s aim is “fostering prosperous and thriving agriculture from the [Mediterranean] sea to the Jordan River”, which would seem to include both Gaza and the West Bank.
Dichter’s remarks came after the security cabinet voted to legitimise 13 hamlets in the West Bank under Israeli law.
And in January, Katz ordered the release of a group of West Bank settlers held in administrative detention after they were accused of committing violent acts against Palestinians in the territory.
At the time, he said that the releases would “convey a clear message of strengthening and encouraging the settlements, which are at the forefront of the struggle against Palestinian terrorism and face growing security challenges”.