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Israel's hardline Treasury Chief Bezalel Smotrich has proposed that the Gaza Strip could become a "real estate jackpot" and revealed that he is engaged in talks with the United States regarding the allocation of the territory after the war—a proposal that has earlier been criticized globally.

Speaking at an gathering in Tel Aviv, he noted that "a business plan is on President Trump's table".

"We've finished the clearance phase... Now we need to build," he said.

In February, Donald Trump proposed plans for the US to assume "an extended control position" over Gaza, saying it as a potential "tourist hotspot of the Middle East".

Such a initiative would involve the involuntary removal of Palestinians in the territory and would breach global norms.

The US and Israel have stated that the process would include "voluntary" emigration. Inquiries for comment on Smotrich's statements have been made to the US State Department.

Trump's proposal—which was widely opposed by Palestinians, Arab states, and the broader global community—later seemed to have been shelved by the White House, with Trump characterizing it in July as "a idea that was really embraced by a lot of people, but also some people didn't like it".

However, sources suggested earlier this month that a iteration of the plan was once more under consideration, and would include Gaza being turned into a trusteeship overseen by the US for at least a ten years while it is developed into a tourism resort and high-tech manufacturing center.

Israel's military operation in Gaza, which has included widespread bombings and structure destruction, has resulted in widespread devastation to the region.

The United Nations (UN) calculates that 92% of residential units have been damaged, 91% of schools will need full reconstruction or major repairs to be completely operational again, and 86% of farmland is ruined.

The UN estimated in February that the restoration of the area would cost $53.2 billion (£46.1bn) over the next 10 years.

"We paid a lot of money for this war," remarked Smotrich. "So we need to share how we make a share on the land sales later".

Smotrich, leader of Israel's Religious Zionist party, is an hardline nationalist who has been censured by the UK and other nations over repeated instigations of hostilities against Palestinians.

He has authority over development in the West Bank and has repeatedly advocated annexationist agendas.

In late August, he unveiled a proposal for the incorporation of approximately 80% of the territory.

He stated the plan would involve "extending Israeli sovereignty" to approximately 82% of the West Bank, emphasizing that this was in line with the motto of "maximum land with minimum Arabs".

Israel has constructed about 160 settlements accommodating 700,000 Jews since it took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem—territory Palestinians claim, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state—during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live near them.

The communities are unlawful under international law.

Israel launched its war in Gaza in retaliation to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were murdered and 251 others were taken hostage.

No fewer than 65,062 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since then, nearly half of them women and minors, according to Gaza's health ministry.

This week, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza—an claim the Israeli government strongly denied.