Smotrich Says Three North Gaza Communities Await Netanyahu Approval

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in Sderot that the Settlement Administration in the Defense Ministry is ready to establish three Jewish communities in the northern Gaza Strip immediately if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives approval. Israeli reports quoted Smotrich saying that without settlement there is no security and that he has plans ready, with the ball now in Netanyahu's court. The proposal would turn wartime security control into a renewed civilian foothold in territory Hamas used to launch the October 7 massacre. It is a strategic campaign marker: the Israeli right is pressing for Jewish return and a buffer that denies Hamas another launchpad.