Zehut Party Chairman Moshe Feiglin, who is running in the upcoming Knesset elections in a joint run with Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party, told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News in an interview that Israel must fundamentally change its approach to the Gaza Strip, calling for the conquest of the territory, the removal of its entire population, and the reestablishment of Jewish communities.
Feiglin, who has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war, also explained why he intends to recommend Netanyahu to form the next government despite believing that the Prime Minister should have resigned following the October 7 massacre.
"It's not about supporting Netanyahu," Feiglin explained. "I definitely do not support Netanyahu's policy."
He argued that Netanyahu bears ultimate responsibility for the October 7 massacre, regardless of his personal involvement in the failures that preceded it.
"I think that Netanyahu had to put down the keys and resign right after the 7th of October," he said, invoking former US President Harry Truman's famous statement: "The buck stops here."
Nevertheless, Feiglin praised Netanyahu's political abilities given Israel's situation, describing him as exceptionally capable within the framework of the Oslo Accords, while arguing that he has failed to offer an alternative to that framework.
"Netanyahu is the best man, really. Ten floors above everybody else, with the ability to function inside the borders or the ballgame of Oslo," he said.
Comparing Israel's political direction to the Titanic approaching an iceberg, Feiglin argued that Netanyahu could provide excellent conditions aboard the ship but would not change its course.
He also compared Netanyahu to a skilled pilot flying an aircraft in circles until its fuel runs out.
Feiglin explained that his decision to recommend Netanyahu stems from his desire to influence the national camp from within, rather than support politicians such as Naftali Bennett or Gadi Eisenkot.
"That's why I have to be there, within the Jewish majority, the national camp, and start changing the course of the Titanic," he said.
Turning to the war in Gaza, Feiglin argued that Israel's fundamental mistake was failing to define its enemy and its objectives immediately after the October 7 massacre.
"The enemy is not Hamas," he said.
He criticized the government's initial deliberations over the objectives of the war, arguing that Israel had missed an opportunity to fundamentally alter the situation in Gaza and the broader region.
"All Netanyahu did was let the steam go out and get back to the Oslo direction. Go back to the 6th of October," he argued.
Feiglin rejected the idea that eliminating Hamas commanders and conducting targeted operations could constitute a sufficient strategy for victory.
"What are we, a mafia or a state?" he asked. "Mafias hit each other with hitmen, right? I'm not against killing them, of course. Are we at a national war or in some kind of conflict between mobs?"
He insisted that recognizing Gaza as part of the Land of Israel must be central to Israel's approach.
"Do we understand that the Gaza Strip belongs to the Jewish nation? It's part of Eretz Yisrael," he said.
Asked about the argument that reconquering Gaza lacked sufficient public consensus, including among soldiers from different sectors of Israeli society, Feiglin maintained that creating such consensus was the responsibility of political leadership.
"The problem here is not consensus. The problem here is a vision and leadership that create that consensus around this new vision," he stated.
He pointed to the Oslo process as an example of political leaders advancing a vision that initially encountered public resistance but eventually gained support.
Asked what he would advocate if elected to the Knesset, three years after the massacre, Feiglin called for major changes to the IDF, beginning with its ethical code and military doctrine.
"First of all, scrap the army’s current ethical code," he said, arguing that progressive concepts had undermined the military's effectiveness.
"You need to change the spirit of the army, of your armed forces," he continued, calling for the rebuilding of ground forces, tank formations, and divisions that he said had been dismantled.
Feiglin then presented his proposed solution for Gaza: "Conquer the Gaza Strip. Expel all the residents of Gaza. None of them can stay."
"Gaza should be totally empty," he continued, calling for the restoration of the Jewish communities evacuated during the 2005 disengagement.
He argued that by now, the communities of Gush Katif should have been rebuilt, with children attending kindergartens and studying Torah. He also proposed constructing a new international airport in Gaza.
"That is the only way to win this war and to send a signal to all our enemies what happens when they attack us," he declared.
When challenged about international opposition to such a policy, including the position of US President Donald Trump, Feiglin claimed that Trump had previously supported the idea but changed course because Israel did not pursue it.
"Trump was totally for it. And why did he stop? Because you didn't want," he asserted.
"Again, I'm not saying that you can always do whatever you want, but at least create that new vision," he added.
Feiglin also addressed the significance of the Temple Mount and the Holy Temple, explaining why he wears a pin depicting the Beit HaMikdash despite attracting substantial support from secular Israelis.
He said that many secular attendees at Zehut conventions wear the same pin, regarding it as a symbol of Jewish identity rather than an exclusively religious statement.
"It's not religion, it's identity, it's culture," he explained. "This is who we are. This is the dream."
Feiglin argued that the Jewish people's national purpose includes establishing the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, describing it as a vision for humanity.
"This is the key symbol of our identity. Zehut means identity. This is our identity," he said.
"And it's the identity of the religious, non-religious. It's the identity of all the Jews."
Returning to Israel's leadership and the war, Feiglin maintained that the opportunity created by the aftermath of October 7 had not been used to implement a new national vision.
"Definitely the 7th of October itself was not only horrible; it was also an opportunity. And you did not take it. Why? Because you were not driven by your vision, but by the leftist vision of Oslo," he concluded.