What Israel's far-right wants

On January 28, Israeli settlers held a conference calling for the rebuilding of settlements in the Gaza Strip. Twelve ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party attended the so-called “Return to Gaza” conference. However, the central figures of the event were Finance Minister and leader of the far-right Zionist National Religious Party, Bezalel Smotrich, and Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of the Zionist Jewish Power party. Smotrich is also an ardent supporter of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He calls for the annexation of the entire territory. Smotrich refuses to recognize the existence of a Palestinian people. He strongly opposes Palestinian statehood, arguing that only Jews have a right to all the land of historic Palestine. Smotrich grew up in a religious Zionist West Bank settlement outside Ramallah. He has stated that his ultimate desire is for Israel to become a Jewish theocracy. In 2017, Smotrich published what he called "Israel's Decisive Plan." In the document, he lays out his vision for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.