Israeli minister Smotrich calls to cancel Gaza Peace Plan, close US-led coordination base in Israel & resettle Gaza

Amid rising tensions between the Israeli government and the U.S. Trump administration over their approaches to the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Finance Minister called to cancel U.S. President Trump’s peace plan in favor of decisive, unilateral Israeli action. 

“It’s either full Israeli control, the destruction of Hamas and the continued suppression of terror over time, encouraging the enemy’s emigration outward and permanent Israeli settlement – or, God forbid, the squandering of the war’s efforts and its heavy costs, and waiting for the next round,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said at a ceremony establishing the new settlement “Yatziv,” south of Jerusalem. 

While noting Israel should thank Trump for his efforts, he said that “The time has come to dismantle the headquarters in Kiryat Gat, to remove from there countries such as Egypt and Britain that are hostile to Israel and undermine its security, to present Hamas with a very short ultimatum for real disarmament and exile, and immediately upon its expiration to storm Gaza with full force, to destroy Hamas militarily and civilly, to open the Rafah crossing with or without Egyptian consent, and to allow Gaza’s residents to leave.” 

His controversial comments came amid simmering tensions between Jerusalem and Washington on a range of issues connected to Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken the rare step of publicly criticizing the U.S. for including representatives of Turkey and Qatar in the planned executive board for Gaza, though some reports indicate that this was coordinated with the U.S. to enable Netanyahu to “blow off steam” in front of his hawkish coalition partners, like Smotrich. 

מדינות אירופה, אנחנו מנצחים!
חונכים את היישוב החדש ״יציב״ בגוש עציון, סמוך לירושלים וממשיכים להרוג את רעיון המדינה הפלסטינית. pic.twitter.com/4ER4KTMrUN

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) January 19, 2026

However, Netanyahu has also not yet responded to Trump’s invitation to join the Gaza Board of Peace, and is not slated to travel to Davos for the planned signing ceremony on Thursday. 

“Did we pay all these prices just to transfer Gaza from one enemy to another? So that the Turks and the Qataris – who even today sponsor Hamas and are no different from it in their aspiration to destroy the State of Israel – will sit on our fence? And as if the Egyptians are such great lovers of Israel,” Smotrich charged. 

There have also been several reports of tensions between IDF and U.S. CENTCOM representatives in the Civil Military Coordination Centre (CMCC), the U.S. established in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, last October to supervise the peace plan and coordinate humanitarian aid.

תיעוד נוכחות גלויה של אנשי צבא מצרים במפקדה האמריקנית בקריית גת בחודש האחרון. צד מהודו באומנות @ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/mmXHZiHBUs

— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) January 18, 2026

In late December, Ynet News reported that U.S. troops had shown footage of IDF troops in the Gaza Strip that revealed their location during a briefing attended by intelligence representatives from Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries, in contradiction to the approvals given by Israel. 

The agreements reportedly stipulate that only truck convoys and logistical activities related to the entry of humanitarian aid are allowed to be filmed and distributed in the center, which includes representatives of dozens of countries, and not IDF forces operating in the field. 

Earlier this week, Kan News reported that pictures published by CENTCOM had confirmed for the first time that Egyptian soldiers had joined representatives from 60 other countries in Kiryat Gat, amid tensions between Cairo and Jerusalem over the Rafah border crossing. 

Also in December, the IDF rejected a report by the British Guardian that the commander of the U.S. forces in the CMCC, Lt.-Gen. Patrick Frank, had clashed with the Israeli side after accusing it of surveilling the U.S. Army soldiers serving there. 

The IDF had stated that “According to IDF practice, in any discussion involving senior officers, the IDF records the conversations for the purpose of transcription and ensuring accuracy of details afterward. This is done in every internal IDF discussion and in any discussion of operational significance.” 

“It is time to thank President Trump for his tremendous support for the State of Israel and for his goodwill – and I am convinced he is acting with good intentions – for his important assistance in bringing back the hostages and for his willingness to take responsibility,” Smotrich went on. 

“But we must explain to him that his plan is bad for the State of Israel and cancel it. Gaza is ours, and its future will affect our future more than anyone else’s.”