Israeli Minister Seeks to Add Resettlement of Gaza to List of War Goals

Miri Regev (Photo: Flash90) Flash90

Transportation Minister Miri Regev said she would ask Jerusalem’s Security Cabinet to define the resettlement of the Gaza Strip as an official goal of the war against Hamas. “It is time to retrieve the territories we gave to Hamas.”

By JNS

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev said on Tuesday she would ask Jerusalem’s Security Cabinet to define the resettlement of the Gaza Strip as an official goal of the war against Hamas, according to Israel National News.

“It is time to retrieve the territories we gave to Hamas,” Regev declared at the annual Jerusalem Convention of the Basheva weekly and INN.

U.S. President Donald Trump “will provide support to maintain the security of the State of Israel,” she added. “Everyone sees that Hamas is a terror group whose goal is to murder. They will not stay there, and Gaza will look different—and that is what will happen.”

She concluded by stating: “Trump talked about emigration, and they continue to move forward with this plan. Gaza’s coast is stunning.”

In August 2005, the Israeli government, headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, unilaterally disengaged from Gaza, removing thousands of Jews from their homes and transferring them within the Green Line.

While the move was designed to bring calm to Israel’s southern border, it ushered in a victory for Hamas in January 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council elections. In June 2006, the terrorist organization seized power in the Strip and evicted the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Regev headed the Israel Defense Forces’ Spokesperson’s Unit during the 2005 disengagement. In 2018, she apologized for calling the residents of Jewish communities in Gaza “barbaric and criminal” and accusing them of “emotional blackmailing” of troops as the disengagement got underway.

Regev claimed at the time that she had simply followed orders from the political echelon when she voiced her support for the 2005 withdrawal.

Jerusalem’s stated goals for the current war against Hamas are to destroy the Iranian-backed terror group’s military and governing force in Gaza, ensure that it can not threaten Israel again, and return all hostages.

Another war goal is the safe return of residents displaced from Israel’s north due to the war with Lebanese Hezbollah, slated to take place on March 1 following the ceasefire with the Iranian-backed terror army.

Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out resettlement.

“If you mean resettling Gaza … it was never in the cards, and I said so openly. And some of my constituents are not happy about it, but that’s my position,” the premier declared in a May 21 interview with CNN.

Trump has said that he is committed to relocating Gaza’s population.