Netanyahu’s Gaza land grab exposed: Annexation plan backed by far-right demands ethnic cleansing
By isabelle // 2025-07-31
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  • Netanyahu plans phased Gaza annexation, starting with illegal buffer zones, to appease far-right allies threatening his government.
  • Extremist ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir demand full Gaza conquest and forced Palestinian displacement.
  • The plan includes an ultimatum to Hamas: accept a ceasefire or face immediate land seizure under "security" pretexts.
  • Israel’s bombardment has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, with forced displacement and famine used as deliberate strategies.
  • Annexation violates international law, with critics calling it a resource grab and genocide, enabled by global inaction.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly devised a phased plan to annex the Gaza Strip, beginning with illegal buffer zones before seizing the entire territory. The scheme, designed to appease far-right coalition partners threatening to collapse his government, includes an ultimatum to Hamas: accept a ceasefire or face immediate land theft under the pretext of "security." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, both extremist settlers, have openly demanded the full conquest of Gaza and the forced displacement of its 2.3 million Palestinian residents. With Netanyahu claiming Trump administration backing, this brazen land grab exposes Israel’s genocidal agenda, masked as self-defense while systematically erasing Palestinian existence.

The far-right’s genocidal demands

Netanyahu’s fragile coalition hinges on the support of radical factions who view Gaza not as occupied land but as a biblical inheritance to be seized by force. Smotrich, who once called for the erasure of a Palestinian village, and Ben Gvir, a convicted extremist, have repeatedly pressured Netanyahu to accelerate Gaza’s destruction. Their demands go beyond military operations; they seek total ethnic cleansing. "We must return to Gaza now," Ben Gvir declared, framing mass expulsion as a security necessity. Smotrich echoed this, insisting Israel must "encourage migration" of Palestinians, a euphemism for state-sanctioned displacement. Netanyahu’s phased annexation plan, leaked to Israeli media, reveals a calculated strategy to avoid global backlash while advancing the far-right’s agenda. The first stage involves issuing Hamas a short deadline to accept a ceasefire. If rejected — or even if accepted—Israel would begin carving out "buffer zones," illegal under international law, before expanding northward until the entire Strip is absorbed. This incremental theft allows Netanyahu to claim tactical restraint while methodically executing a land grab.

A blueprint for genocide

The plan is not just about annexation; it’s about extermination. Since the October 7 attacks, Israel’s bombardment has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while systematically destroying hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure. Now, with forced displacement as the endgame, Netanyahu’s government is weaponizing starvation, blocking aid trucks, and rendering Gaza uninhabitable. The World Food Programme warns famine is "imminent," with 1.1 million people facing catastrophic hunger. This is not collateral damage; it’s a deliberate strategy to drive Palestinians out. Netanyahu’s claim of U.S. support adds another layer of complicity. Such a green light would embolden Israel to accelerate its campaign of erasure, mirroring the Nakba of 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians were violently expelled from their homes. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, annexation of occupied territory is a war crime. The International Court of Justice has already ruled Israel’s actions in Gaza plausibly constitute genocide. Yet Netanyahu’s government operates with impunity, dismissing legal and moral boundaries. The buffer zones — purportedly for security — are a smokescreen for colonization. Historically, such zones have been used to seize farmland, isolate communities, and fragment Palestinian territory, as seen in the West Bank’s creeping annexation. Critics argue this plan is less about defense and more about resource control. Gaza’s Mediterranean gas reserves, worth billions, have long been eyed by Israeli energy firms. Annexation would grant Israel exclusive access while condemning Palestinians to perpetual subjugation.

Global silence enables atrocity

Western governments, despite token calls for restraint, continue arming Israel. Media complicity is equally glaring; outlets framing annexation as a "security measure" ignore the decades of occupation and apartheid that provoked resistance. Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: die under bombardment or flee into Egypt’s Sinai, where refugee camps could become permanent ghettos. Egypt, fearing another Nakba, has resisted opening its border, but Netanyahu’s allies are lobbying Washington to pressure Cairo. Netanyahu’s annexation plan is not a defensive strategy; it’s a blueprint for genocide. By appeasing far-right fanatics, he is normalizing the ethnic cleansing of Gaza while the world just sits back and enables Israel’s colonial conquest. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com Haaretz.com MiddleEastEye.net
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