The Religious Zionism Party has announced its support for Jewish settlement in southern Lebanon. In response to questions directed to all parties by the Telegram channel Abu Ali Express, the party led by Bezalel Smotrich wrote that its plan for southern Lebanon includes “annexing all the territory we have captured up to the Litani River and the Yellow Line, and establishing a series of Jewish settlements.” Nevertheless, the statement does not appear on the party’s website or social media accounts, and is published only on its Telegram channel. The party did not respond to an inquiry from Davar on the matter.
The parties were asked to answer four questions about their positions on the Gaza Strip, southern Lebanon, the West Bank, and Iran. The parties that have responded so far are Religious Zionism, led by Bezalel Smotrich; Identity, led by Moshe Feiglin; Am Yisrael, led by Ofer Winter; Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman; and Beyachad, led by Naftali Bennett.
Hamas and Gaza: From Voluntary Emigration to a Political Initiative and Maintaining Military Freedom of Action
In response to the question, “How should Hamas be defeated?”, the Religious Zionism Party replied: “The only way to achieve a decisive victory begins with full security control over the entire Gaza Strip. After that, a belt of Jewish settlements must be established to ensure the security of Israel and the residents of the Tkuma region. Under Minister Smotrich’s instructions, the Settlement Administration is prepared to immediately establish three settlements in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of a structured plan for Jewish settlement in Gaza that has been presented to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.”
“From this point, the voluntary emigration plan can be effectively implemented, with the key being to extinguish the hope and dream of rebuilding the Gaza Strip,” the party stated. “As long as Gazans think that one day Gaza will be rebuilt and flourish again, they will not want to leave the Strip. But if we annex the territories we have captured up to the Yellow Line and establish settlements there, leaving Gaza devastated, small and densely populated, they will understand that they have no reason to stay there and will look for somewhere else to go.”
The Identity Party, the second part of the Religious Zionism Party’s Knesset list, also shares this view, summarizing it with the slogan “Conquest, expulsion and settlement”: “A decisive victory in Gaza will not be achieved through localized raids or political agreements, but through the understanding that all of Gaza is part of the Land of Israel and that the hostile population is part of Hamas,” Feiglin’s party stated. “We will work to emigrate the Gazans and impose full Israeli sovereignty, without any foreign military presence or ‘Board of Peace’ that is a ‘Palestinian’ state in disguise.”
The parties Am Yisrael, led by Ofer Winter, and Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, also responded, but focused on the military elimination of Hamas and separating the population from the terrorist organization, so that supplies would be delivered to the population alone. At the same time, Winter also speaks of encouraging voluntary emigration and supporting the move through public diplomacy, while Lieberman calls for easing the rules of engagement, transferring governance to an agreed-upon Arab entity, and preserving the IDF’s freedom of action.
Bennett presented a different approach to defeating Hamas, combining political measures with military action. He said Qatar should be declared an enemy state, removed along with Turkey from the Board of Peace for Gaza, and replaced by moderate countries such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Bennett argued that a shortage of combat troops is currently preventing Hamas’s defeat, and that conscripting draft evaders would make it possible to dismantle the organization through a military operation whose details cannot be disclosed for information security reasons.
Lebanon: From a Security Buffer Zone to the Establishment of Settlements
As noted, Smotrich’s party was the only one to explicitly state that it supports settlement in southern Lebanon. “Following the tremendous operational achievements we have secured on the northern front, we need to move to the final diplomatic stage: annexing all the territory we have captured up to the Litani River and the Yellow Line, and establishing a series of Jewish settlements. Wherever there is settlement, there will be security.”
The Identity Party wrote that Lebanon should be targeted for every attack on Israeli civilians and soldiers, and that territory should be annexed from it. “To win on the northern front, Lebanon must pay a price, as it is not acting to stop attacks on our civilians and soldiers. The entire Lebanese state, including its senior officials and infrastructure, will bear the consequences of any hostility, from the humiliating placement of ‘tents’ on our territory to the launching of drones and missiles at Israeli civilians and security forces. Any territory that is captured will be annexed immediately and will not be returned under any circumstances.”
Ofer Winter’s Am Yisrael party also responded that Israel should seize territory in southern Lebanon, but described this as “creating a buffer zone free of population in southern Lebanon up to the Litani Line.” It also stated that “whoever started a war against Israel will pay a territorial price after losing it.”
Bennett, by contrast, emphasized the need to target Iran, which he described as “the head of the octopus,” rather than just its tentacles. He said diplomatic pressure on Hezbollah should be increased while preserving Israel’s freedom of security action. He proposed re-establishing the “Tzaltzal” unit for economic warfare against terrorism, with the aim of targeting Hezbollah’s sources of funding, alongside strengthening the Lebanese army and government and carrying out military strikes against the organization.
Defense Minister Israel Katz (Likud) made similar remarks to Winter’s yesterday (Wednesday) in a statement delivered from inside Lebanon. “As the Prime Minister and I have made clear, we will not withdraw from the security zones,” the defense minister said. “If Hezbollah joins Iran in an attack on Israel, it will be dealt a heavy blow and lose additional territory in southern Lebanon, in the areas of Nabatieh and the Litani, which will become part of Israel’s permanent security zone. The IDF is prepared to carry out the ground maneuver.”
The West Bank: Abrogating the Oslo Accords and Alternatives to the Palestinian Authority
Religious Zionism, Identity, Am Yisrael and Yisrael Beiteinu call for the abrogation of the Oslo Accords, the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, and the promotion of settlement and construction in the E-1 area, alongside the extension of Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank. On other issues, some of the parties seek to advance political solutions involving cooperation, while others support unilateral measures.
Yisrael Beiteinu calls for Israeli-Jordanian cooperation in Areas A and B, under which Jordanian police would be responsible for managing the day-to-day lives of Palestinians, while Israel would retain freedom of security operations. Regarding settlements, Lieberman seeks to extend Israeli sovereignty to Area C and strengthen existing settlements, while taking into account the security burden placed on IDF soldiers. He also calls for construction to be carried out in coordination with security officials and in accordance with the law.
The Am Yisrael party seeks to advance a practical plan for voluntary emigration from the West Bank as well, and to promote municipal leadership structures in place of the Palestinian Authority. This would be alongside disarming illegal weapons in the West Bank and addressing incitement in mosques and schools. On settlements, Winter calls for Israeli sovereignty to be extended over all of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and for settlements approved by the current government to be recognized in practice.
Smotrich’s party primarily emphasized the support it has provided to Jewish settlement in the West Bank, stating that full Israeli sovereignty should be applied to all of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) “in a way that effectively sabotages the idea of a Palestinian state.” Their partners in the Identity party said they do not recognize the term “Palestinian people” and, alongside promoting settlement throughout the West Bank, would work to shut down the Civil Administration and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which they say “perpetuate the conflict.”
Together party leader Naftali Bennett also expressed support for construction in the E-1 area, which he said creates an important territorial contiguity. He emphasized his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state and to transferring territory to the Palestinians, declaring that “not a single centimeter of land will be handed over.”