Israel’s far-right finance minister said Israelis replacing Palestinians would “make the desert bloom.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged enclave, making way for Israelis who could “make the desert bloom.”
Smotrich, who has been excluded from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet and discussions on future arrangements in Gaza, made the comments Sunday while speaking to Israeli Army Radio.
“What needs to be done in the Gaza Strip is to encourage emigration,” he said.
“If there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not two million Arabs, the whole discussion the next day will be totally different,” he said.
He added that if the 2.3 million residents were no longer there “growing up with the aspiration to destroy the State of Israel,” Gaza would be viewed differently in Israel.
“Most of Israeli society will say, ‘Why not?’ It’s a nice place, let’s make the desert flourish, it’s not at anyone’s expense.
In response, Hamas said Smotrich’s call to displace two million Palestinians and keep around 200,000 in Gaza is “a war crime accompanied by criminal aggression.”
In a statement, Hamas added that the international community and the United Nations must take action to end Israel’s crimes and hold it accountable for what it has done to the Palestinian people.
Sara Khairat, a reporter for Tel Aviv Tribune from Tel Aviv, said Smotrich’s comments “fit into a narrative that many are beginning to believe that Israel wants to reoccupy Gaza.”
“Pushing the idea that they want to drive out the Palestinians,” Khairat said, would recall scenes from the “Nakba” (catastrophe), the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in the aftermath of the 1948 war that accompanied the founding of the ‘State. of Israel.
Most Palestinians displaced after the Nakba ended up in neighboring Arab states, and Arab leaders have said any recent move to displace Palestinians would be unacceptable.
In a speech on Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected any measures aimed at forcing Palestinians from their homes.
“We will not allow travel, whether from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank,” he said.
Smotrich’s far-right agenda
Smotrich, whose far-right Religious Zionist Party enjoys support from Israel’s settler community, has made similar comments in the past, placing himself at odds with Israel’s most important ally, the United States. .
But his view is at odds with the government’s official position that Palestinians in Gaza will be able to return home after the war.
Smotrich’s party, which helped Netanyahu secure the majority he needed to become prime minister for the sixth time almost exactly a year ago, has seen its popularity plummet since the conflict began.
Opinion polls also indicate that most Israelis do not support the return of Israeli settlements to Gaza after their removal in 2005 during the army’s withdrawal.
Israel withdrew its army and settlers from Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation, and Netanyahu said he did not intend to maintain a permanent presence again, but would maintain security control. for an indefinite period.
However, Israel’s long-term intentions are unclear and countries including the United States have said Gaza should be governed by the Palestinians.
