Israeli Finance Minister Vows to Reoccupy and Resettle Gaza: “We Are Not Afraid of the Word ‘Occupation’”

“We are not afraid of the word occupation — we will liberate Gaza and resettle it.”

Smotrich’s renewed call for the occupation and resettlement of Gaza comes as Israel, with full U.S. support, continues committing genocidal crimes against Palestinians in Gaza for the 20th consecutive month.

His comments were made in a speech near the Western Wall (known to Muslims as al-Buraq Wall) in occupied East Jerusalem, during celebrations of “Jerusalem Day”, according to Israeli channels 12 and 7.

Smotrich declared:“There are those who are afraid of victory — we are not.”

He then turned to the far-right crowd and asked:“Are we afraid of victory?”

The crowd replied: “No.”

“Are we afraid of the word occupation?”

The crowd again answered: “No.”

He concluded:“We are occupying the Land of Israel. We will liberate Gaza, resettle Gaza, and defeat the enemy.”

Earlier this month, on May 5, Smotrich stated at a conference in West Jerusalem that Tel Aviv would not withdraw from Gaza after completing its occupation — even in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian factions.

“Jerusalem Day” (28th of the Hebrew month of Iyar) commemorates Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 and its subsequent annexation to the western part of the city.

Al-Aqsa Storming and Israeli Provocation

Earlier Monday, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque along with other officials and more than 2,092 settlers, according to Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf Department.

Among those involved were:

• Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf

• Knesset member Yitzhak Kroizer, who raised the Israeli flag at the site

Palestinians accuse Israel of intensifying efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem, including al-Aqsa Mosque, and to erase its Arab and Islamic identity.

Palestinians continue to uphold East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, in accordance with international law, which does not recognize Israel’s 1967 occupation or its 1981 annexation.

Since 2003, Israeli police have unilaterally allowed settler incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque through the Maghariba Gate, with such raids increasing on Jewish holidays and nationalist occasions.

The Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, under the Jordanian Ministry of Religious Endowments, has repeatedly called for these raids to stop — to no avail.

War Crimes and Ongoing Genocide in Gaza

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a full-scale genocidal war on Gaza, involving mass killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement — in complete defiance of international calls and legally binding orders from the International Court of Justice to halt the assault.

This U.S.-backed war has resulted in:

• Over 177,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, most of them women and children

• More than 11,000 missing

• Hundreds of thousands displaced

• Famine that has killed many, including children

Escalation in the West Bank and Continued Occupation

Parallel to the Gaza genocide, Israel has escalated military and settler violence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem:

• At least 969 Palestinians have been killed

• Around 7,000 injured

• More than 17,000 arrested, according to Palestinian sources

For decades, Israel has occupied Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese territories, and continues to reject international demands to withdraw and recognize a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on pre-1967 borders.