Israel should have left Gaza “empty” after the Hamas-led October 7 massacre and annexed the area, Zehut party chairman Moshe Feiglin told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview, saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not taken decisive enough military action since the attack.
“I want to see Gaza empty. I am not afraid when they’re hiding behind their own babies. And this is what they do,” Feiglin said.
“Occupation, transfer all, all the Arabs. I don’t care. They cannot stay there after what they did,” he said.
Feiglin is running in the October elections with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionist Party (RZP). The two right-wing party leaders signed an agreement to run as a technical bloc that can split after entering the Knesset.
He holds the second slot on the RZP list, meaning he would enter the Knesset if the party passes the electoral threshold. RZP has been polling around four to six seats.
Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich and right-wing politician Moshe Feiglin sign agreement for joint run in October elections, September 1, 2026. (credit: Religious Zionist party)
Zehut and RZP both advocate right-wing security policies, including the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza. Zehut also supports libertarian economic policies and the legalization of cannabis.
Gov’t should have used October 7 to annex Gaza, Feiglin says
Feiglin said that he believes the current government should have viewed October 7 as an opportunity to annex Gaza.
Feiglin said that children growing up in Gaza would continue to pose a threat to Israel, and that there was no way to change or educate them differently.
“The baby that will be born in Gaza tomorrow will do exactly the same [as the October 7 massacre], God forbid, to your baby that will be born tomorrow in Jerusalem,” he said.
“There’s no other way. That’s the reason they live for. That’s what they learn with their mother’s milk.”
“You’re not going to change them. You’re not going to educate them,” he added.
“They’re saying openly that they want the kids to be killed together with the Jews. This is what Islam is all about,” he said.
Feiglin said that October 7 had shown that there was no other alternative to his plan for Gaza.
He said he would have opened Gaza’s borders and allowed Gazans to leave, preventing them from remaining in Gaza.
“I would open the borders and let them all go, but no one can stay. And it has to be a part of the Jewish state,” he said.
“We should have seen now the Gush Katif villages built already. We should have seen now the new Israeli international airport almost finished, done, created in the Gaza Strip,” he added.
Feiglin said that this would have sent a message to Israel’s enemies that, “when you attack us from any part of the land, you’re going to lose it.”
“And we’re going to expand,” he added.
Feiglin says his approach would have brought peace to entire region
Feiglin said that if his approach was taken after the October 7 attacks, it would have ended the subsequent war.
“That would have [brought] peace to the entire region because they don’t care about being killed. Life means nothing to them.”
He said that Netanayhu’s approach “did exactly the opposite, poured gasoline on the fire and gave them temptation to continue the war because they have nothing to lose.”
“Now, I’m not saying to kill all of Gaza, but you could open the borders and push them out, and the world would accept it,” he said.
He also said that the government had failed to view October 7 as an “opportunity to finish with this concept of [the Oslo Accords] and take back full control of Gaza. And see how we’re getting rid of these monsters, Islam Nazi monsters, and rebuild this land, which is obviously part of Israel.”
When asked about the spike in violence by settlers in the West Bank, Feiglin said he opposed people taking the law into their own hands while arguing that Jews living in the area were defending themselves.
“Jews feel that they have to defend themselves. And when the Arab attacks them, they know how to bring the media and immediately give you the end picture where you don’t understand what really happened. And it happens again and again.”
Feiglin said he hoped to serve as defense minister in the next government and believed he was qualified for the position.
Despite differences with Netanyahu, Feiglin said he would recommend the prime minister over any other candidate, sharply criticizing the opposition bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu and describing its members as left-wing.
“The Left is represented very well by [prime ministerial candidate and Yashar party leader Gadi] Eisenkot, and don’t tell me they are not leftists. This is who they are,” he said.