Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Tuesday for Israel to apply permanent sovereignty over territory it controls in Gaza and Lebanon, arguing that enemies who launch wars and lose must pay a lasting territorial price.

Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in Jerusalem, Smotrich outlined a broader agenda that included voluntary relocation of Gaza residents to Arab and Muslim countries, rejection of Palestinian national claims and greater Israeli independence in defense and economic affairs.

“An aggressor that initiates a war and loses forfeits territory to the victor,” Smotrich said, urging a departure from what he described as prevailing liberal international thinking.

He argued that permanent Israeli sovereignty over areas currently under military control would “permanently etch the cost of defeat into our enemies’ consciousness.” Such a policy, he maintained, would establish deterrence for generations and also benefit Israel’s Western allies.

Turning to Gaza’s future, Smotrich described the Strip as an unsustainable “political mutation.” He said approximately 75% of its residents are descendants of refugees from 1948 and argued that their refugee status has been perpetuated to sustain opposition to Israel’s existence.

Smotrich proposed a diplomatic and humanitarian framework that would facilitate voluntary resettlement across Arab and Muslim countries, citing shared language, culture and religion. He defended voluntary emigration as a legitimate policy and argued that Western democracies should not be expected to absorb the population.

The minister also challenged the historical legitimacy of Palestinian nationalism, describing it as an “artificial construct” developed in the early 20th century to oppose Jewish sovereignty.

He claimed that its demographic foundations included migrant workers attracted by economic development associated with the Zionist movement and urged Israel to reject collective national demands that he characterized as aimed at eliminating the Jewish state.

Addressing international criticism of civilian suffering in Gaza, Smotrich argued that the moral justification for Israel’s war should not be determined through that measure. He said Israel takes extensive steps to minimize civilian harm that is unnecessary to military objectives, while maintaining that the conflict is a justified act of national self-defense.

Smotrich concluded by calling for a change in the U.S.–Israel relationship, moving from dependency toward an equal partnership between sovereign countries.

He advocated full Israeli self-reliance in defense and economic affairs, alongside closer ties with the American conservative-nationalist movement. Smotrich presented Israel as both a strategic asset and an ideological ally in efforts to defend national borders and identities.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)