Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Sunday that work has begun on establishing an “immigration administration” to implement US President Donald Trump’s plan, which aims to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and resettle them in a third country, under the pretext of “encouraging voluntary immigration.”

Smotrich's remarks came during a meeting of the right-wing parliamentary lobby group "Eretz Yisrael," which includes MKs from the coalition and opposition parties and works in partnership with the Yesha Settlement Council; he stressed the need to "seize the opportunity" to move forward with the plan.

"We must take this plan with all our might. The logistics are complicated, because we have to determine the destination of every person leaving the Strip. We are preparing for this under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz," Smotrich said, noting that Katz had announced the establishment of a special department for this purpose.

Smotrich touched on the scale of the operations required to implement the plan, saying that it is a "huge logistical project. To get everyone out of Gaza, we will need to deport 5,000 people a day, seven days a week, for a whole year, or 10,000 people a day for six months."

For her part, Minister of Settlement and National Missions, Orit Struck, said that the security threat from Gaza can only be eliminated by implementing a broad immigration program for the residents of the Strip. She said: "Even if we are able to eliminate Hamas as a civil and military authority, we will not be able to eliminate the threat."

She considered that removing the security threat to Israel from the Strip will not happen "as long as we do not allow the majority of the population in Gaza to emigrate. These people only know how to think about eliminating us."

"This is where we are headed, and I say this as a member of the government and the cabinet; the government will bear responsibility," added Struck, who is also a member of the security cabinet.

In turn, the head of the Yesha settlement council and the head of the Binyamin settlement council, Yisrael Gantz, said during the “Land of Israel” lobby conference in the Knesset on Trump’s plan to emigrate from Gaza: “There is no difference between Hamas in Gaza and Hamas in Judea and Samaria – anyone who participates in or encourages terrorism cannot stay here. This is not just a security issue, but an existential necessity!”

“Israel is going through a historic moment – we have an American president who encourages us to think outside the box. We don’t need more proposals, we need to start implementing! It’s time for the government to take real steps to implement Trump’s vision,” he added.

Katz had indicated that this administration, which Smotrich spoke about, would include representatives from other government ministries and security agencies, and would oversee the implementation of a plan that would allow every Palestinian from Gaza who wants to leave to obtain a “package” that includes exit arrangements by sea, air or land.

"The plan includes broad-based assistance that will allow every person living in the Gaza Strip who wishes to voluntarily immigrate to a third country to receive a package that includes, among other things, special exit arrangements via sea, air, and land," Katz said.