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The nation's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has suggested that the Gaza Strip could become a "real estate bonanza" and revealed that he is holding discussions with the United States regarding the allocation of the region following the conflict—a proposal that has previously been criticized globally.

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

"We have finished the clearance phase... Now we need to rebuild," he remarked.

In February, Donald Trump floated plans for the US to take "a extended ownership role" over Gaza, saying it as a potential "tourist hotspot of the Middle East".

Such a plan would entail the involuntary relocation of Palestinians in the area and would contravene global law.

The US and Israel have asserted that the process would include "voluntary" emigration. Requests for comment on Smotrich's remarks have been submitted to the US State Department.

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

However, reports revealed earlier this month that a iteration of the plan was again under consideration, and would involve Gaza being turned into a trusteeship overseen by the US for at least a decade while it is developed into a tourism destination and high-tech industrial hub.

Israel's defense operation in Gaza, which has included mass bombings and building destruction, has caused extensive damage to the region.

The United Nations (UN) assesses that 92% of residential units have been destroyed, 91% of schools will require full rebuilding or significant repairs to be completely functional again, and 86% of cropland is damaged.

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

"We invested a lot of money for this war," said Smotrich. "So we need to divide how we make a profit on the land development later".

Smotrich, leader of Israel's Religious Zionist party, is an ultranationalist who has been penalized by the UK and other countries over repeated incitements of hostilities against Palestinians.

He has control over planning in the West Bank and has repeatedly pushed annexationist agendas.

In late August, he presented a initiative for the annexation of approximately four-fifths of the territory.

He said the plan would involve "applying Israeli authority" to approximately 82% of the West Bank, adding that this was in line with the principle of "maximum land with fewest Arabs".

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

The communities are illegal under international regulations.

Israel initiated its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were murdered and 251 others were held hostage.

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

This week, a UN commission of investigation determined that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza—an allegation the Israeli government strongly disputed.