Israel laid out its harrowing plan to take Palestinian territories in 2017. Now it is happening
Israel's announcement of a new offensive to 'conquer' Gaza, along with claims by Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli minister of finance, that the strip will be 'entirely destroyed', have flustered the international community. Observers may be distressed, disturbed or upset by these plans. But they should come as no surprise. This kind of genocidal ideology has been evident, in Smotrich's case, since long before 7 October. And opposition voices – including mine – have been warning of the government's intentions in Gaza since October 2023.
These latest actions by the fanatic nationalists in Israel's government are causing misery to Palestinians, but also to Israelis. The decision of the Israeli cabinet to expand its invasion has terrified the families of Israeli hostages. They have accused Smotrich of promoting his messianic vision on the graves of their loved ones, and Benjamin Netanyahu of hiding information and lying to them about the number of living hostages. Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan, who was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October, went to the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) this week with a chilling warning: the expansion of military efforts in Gaza will lead to the death of hostages, she said. When she called on army reservists to refuse drafting orders, she was silenced and removed from the platform.
In October 2023, in my first interview after the massacre of 7 October, I warned that the Israeli government would utilise the brutal slaughter in order to pursue its plans to annex Palestinian territories. The plan I referred to was one formulated by Smotrich in 2017, titled the Subjugation Plan (sometimes translated as the Decisive Plan). In it, he laid out a blueprint to eradicate the prospect of a Palestinian state. In a harrowing document that discusses people as if they were pawns on a chessboard, Smotrich reshaped the borders of Israel. First, he demanded annexation of Palestinian territory without granting basic political, civil or national rights to Palestinians, treating them instead as colonial subjects. Second, those Palestinians who would not accept their lot as second-class subjects would be physically expelled from their homes, lands and their homeland altogether. And third: those who resist, who struggle for their fundamental rights as human beings, would be hunted and killed.
While at the time of its publication this plan was directed mostly towards the occupied West Bank, it is clear how today the fog of war will allow for its implementation in Gaza. I was not a prophet sent to forewarn and predict the cynical ploy of Netanyahu and his gang of settlers – I only needed to listen to what they were saying. I was subsequently suspended from my position in the Knesset, and I am now serving a second suspension for endorsing South Africa's request to the international court of justice to bring accountability and justice in the face of the violence I warned of.
How can one be surprised by the comments of Smotrich if the actions of the Israeli cabinet for the past 18 months have followed his subjugation plan? Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank have been bombed, starved, slaughtered and expelled in order to make room for Smotrich's vision of new settlements. While the people of the world observed the war with terror and fear, Smotrich's settlers boasted that they were living in a 'miraculous time'.
In the ongoing disputation as to what extent the actions of Israel constitute the crime of genocide, this plan should serve as the prime exhibit for the prosecution. 'Subjugation' for Smotrich and his gang translates to ethnic cleansing, forceful transfer, illegal annexation and killings that break international law. In essence, this plan aims for the complete destruction and dissolution of the Palestinians as a national community, as a shared people, in their own homeland – isn't this the definition of genocide?
'Any attempt to annex land in Gaza would be unacceptable' said the UK's Middle East minister, Hamish Falconer, this week. His words, which came with no sanctions or consequences attached, dispersed into thin air. It seems truly farcical that almost 20 months into this calamity there are still those who believe the Israeli government could be persuaded to change course by words alone, or that the Israeli cabinet holds any degree of care for rule of law and international norms. But if I first felt some degree of pity towards the UK government and its ineffectual diplomacy, it quickly turned into a burning anger when I remembered the recent visit of the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, to the UK. Only weeks ago he received protection from the same government that now accuses his cabinet of unacceptable and unlawful conduct of war.
For the sake of the Palestinians, the hostages and the people of Israel, the Israeli government must be held to account. This cannot be accomplished through words alone.
Ofer Cassif is a member of the Knesset, representing the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash)
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