Bezalel Smotrich, a senior member of Netanyahu’s coalition, said that Israel should take over and resettle Gaza, sparking outrage and condemnation from Palestinians and human rights groups.
A senior Israeli official from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government admitted on Saturday that the Gaza Strip is a “ghetto” and that Israel must reduce the enclave’s Palestinian population ― the latest example of Israeli authorities plainly stating their goals for the future of Gaza and Palestinians.
In an interview with Israeli Army Radio, ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that his “demand” was for Gaza to stop being a “hotbed where 2 million people grow up on hatred and aspire to destroy the State of Israel.” He did not specify why Palestinian civilians in Gaza would aspire to destroy Israel.
According to a translation by Haaretz, the Religious Zionism party chairman also said that Israel must occupy and resettle Gaza in order to regain security, and that he had a plan to do so, which he would present to the cabinet soon.
Smotrich said that his plan involved offering financial incentives and other benefits to the Palestinians in Gaza to leave the strip and relocate to other countries, such as Egypt, Jordan, or Turkey. He said that those who refused to leave would be subject to Israeli military rule and control, and that Israel would annex and settle the strip with Jewish Israelis.
Smotrich said that his plan was the only way to end the war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been under a brutal Israeli siege and blockade since 2007, and which has been the target of four Israeli military offensives since 2008, the latest of which began on October 7, 2023, and has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians, and caused widespread destruction and suffering in the strip, as well as in Israel.
Smotrich said that his plan was also the only way to ensure Israel’s security and sovereignty, and to prevent the rise and the threat of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza, which have fired thousands of rockets and missiles at Israel since the war began, and which have dug tunnels and launched attacks across the border.
Smotrich said that his plan was also the only way to preserve Israel’s Jewish and democratic character, and to prevent the demographic and political challenge posed by the Palestinians, who outnumber the Jews in the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and who demand their right to self-determination and statehood.
Advocating Apartheid
Smotrich’s remarks sparked outrage and condemnation from the Palestinians and the human rights groups, who accused him of advocating ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide, and who called for his resignation and prosecution.
“This is a racist and criminal statement that reveals the true face and the true intentions of the Israeli regime, which is to wipe out the Palestinian people and to steal their land,” said Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza.
“This is a blatant and flagrant violation of the international law and the human rights, which prohibit the forcible transfer, the colonization, and the annexation of occupied territory, and which protect the rights and the dignity of the occupied people,” said Nabil Shaath, a senior adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the rival Fatah faction in the West Bank.
“This is a shocking and appalling statement that exposes the moral and legal bankruptcy of the Israeli government, which is pursuing a policy of oppression, discrimination, and dispossession against the Palestinians, and which is undermining the prospects for peace and justice in the region,” said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, a New York-based NGO.
Smotrich’s remarks also drew criticism and concern from some of his Israeli colleagues and allies, who said that his plan was unrealistic, impractical, and harmful, and that it would isolate and endanger Israel in the international arena.
“This is a delusional and irresponsible statement that does not reflect the position or the policy of the Israeli government, which is committed to a negotiated and peaceful solution to the conflict, based on the two-state formula,” said Yair Lapid, the foreign minister and the alternate prime minister, who leads the centrist Yesh Atid party.
“This is a dangerous and provocative statement that does not serve the interests or the security of Israel, which is facing multiple threats and challenges from Iran and its proxies, and which needs the support and the cooperation of the international community and the Arab world,” said Benny Gantz, the defense minister and the alternate prime minister, who heads the center-left Blue and White party.
