Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Monday that he expects Hamas to be given an ultimatum on its disarmament “in the coming days,” and that “in the end,” Israel will occupy the Gaza Strip and reestablish Jewish settlements in the coastal Palestinian territory.

“It is estimated that in the coming days, Hamas will be given an ultimatum to disarm and fully demilitarize Gaza,” the far-right minister said, in an interview with Kan public radio.

Smotrich clarified that the ultimatum would be “not very long” in duration, and that it will be made by Washington, not Israel: “We are giving [US President Donald Trump] a chance to do it his own way.”

Last week, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that Hamas will have a 60-day period to disarm, a condition given by the White House, and “we are respecting that.”

“If [Hamas] does not comply, the IDF will receive international legitimacy and American backing to do it itself,” Smotrich said Monday, adding that the disarmament plan includes “all AK-47 rifles, all small arms, and of course, all the tunnels and explosives.”

“The IDF is already preparing for this and making plans,” he continued. “On the political level, we have held several discussions to fine-tune these plans.”

“There are currently two or three alternatives we are examining to determine which is the most........

© The Times of Israel