Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday described Gaza as a “real estate bonanza” and said that the US and Israel are in talks about dividing the land, the Israeli news site Ynet has reported.
Smotrich referenced what he called a “business plan” that Ynet said was similar to a plan being circulated within the Trump administration. According to a recent report from The Washington Post, the plan involves removing the Palestinian population and placing Gaza under the control of a US-administered trusteeship for 10 years as it is turned into a tourist resort and advanced technology manufacturing hub. The plan is modeled on Trump’s calls for a US takeover of Gaza.
The Post report said the removal of Palestinians from Gaza could be “temporary,” but Smotrich, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other Israeli officials have made clear that their vision for Gaza involves the ethnic cleansing, or permanent removal, of the Palestinian population.
“This plan was built by the most professional people there are,” Smotrich said on Wednesday, adding that it’s currently on President Trump’s desk. “We are checking how this becomes a real estate bonanza—I’m not joking—and pays for itself,” he said.
Smotrich said that he was personally involved in the negotiations with the US on dividing up the Palestinian territory. “I’ve begun negotiations with the Americans, and I’m saying this seriously, because we paid a lot of money for this war. We need to work out how we share percentages on the land. The demolition phase, the first stage of urban renewal, we’ve already done. Now we need to build,” he said.
Smotrich’s comments come as Israel is conducting a major offensive in Gaza City with the goal of forcibly displacing the entire civilian population to southern Gaza and razing every building in the city to the ground. Earlier this year, Smotrich said that Gaza’s civilian population will soon be “concentrated” in southern Gaza and forced to leave the territory.
“The Gazan citizens will be concentrated in the south. They will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places,” Smotrich said in May.
