TEL AVIV, December 10. /TASS/. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionism party, called for a full Israeli occupation of Gaza.
"It's time to occupy this territory. Enough of being afraid of that word. We need to take civilian control of Gaza away from Hamas, thereby cutting it off from the source of oxygen that is still feeding it," the politician said in televised remarks ahead of a meeting of the party’s parliament faction.
Smotrich pointed to the current events in Syria as an example of how leaders "run away when they realize they have lost power and control over the people."
"This can be done in Gaza as well. It is close to us. We have already achieved great success there and we must take another step and achieve a real and clear result: victory," the minister said.
Smotrich, who has a role at the country’s Defense Ministry to oversee Israeli settlements, previously also called for an annexation of the West Bank, and said he ordered some agencies to get ready to make the move in 2025.
According to the minister, the extension of Israeli sovereignty to the Palestinian territories will be facilitated by the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House. Trump during his first term in office recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel and moved the US embassy to Jerusalem.