Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Wednesday again advocated a mass departure of Palestinians from Gaza, rejecting American criticism calling his previous scenario statements “irresponsible.”
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“The United States is our good friend, but above all, we will do what is good for the State of Israel: encouraging the emigration of hundreds of thousands of people from Gaza will allow (Israeli) residents to return home (on the edge of Gaza) and to live in security while protecting our soldiers,” Mr. Ben Gvir wrote on the social network X in response to American criticism.
Mr. Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right pro-settler Jewish Force party, called on Monday for a return of Jewish settlers to Gaza, after the current war, and to “encourage” the Palestinian population to emigrate, the day after a similar call from another far-right minister, that of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich.
The expulsion of a population from its territory is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions, which constitute the core of international humanitarian law, and the statutes of the International Criminal Court (ICC) designate “deportation or forcible transfer of population” as a crime against humanity.
AFP
“The United States rejects recent statements by Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir advocating the relocation of Palestinians outside of Gaza,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Tuesday, calling these talk of “irresponsible”.
Mr. Smotrich, who heads the “Religious Zionism” party, returned to the charge on Wednesday, affirming in statements reported by the media, that “70% of the Israeli public supports the voluntary emigration of Arabs from Gaza and their absorption by other countries.
According to him, “the supporters of such a humanitarian solution understand that a small country like ours cannot afford a reality where, just four minutes from our localities, there is a hotbed of hatred and terror, where two million of people wake up every morning with the desire to destroy the State of Israel.
Mr. Smotrich denied the existence of a Palestinian people during a private visit to Paris in March. “There are no Palestinians, because there is no Palestinian people,” he said.
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, combining right-wing and far-right parties and ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups, is already accused of having largely strengthened the weight of settlers in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
Paris condemns “provocative” statements by Israeli ministers
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned on Wednesday the “provocative” statements of Israeli ministers calling for the “emigration” of the population of the Gaza Strip as well as the re-establishment of settlements on this Palestinian territory.
“France condemns the comments of the Israeli Ministers of Finance, Mr. Bezalel Smotrich, and of National Security, Mr. Itamar Ben Gvir” and calls on Israel “to refrain from such provocative statements, which are irresponsible and fuel tensions” , indicates this ministry in a press release.