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.