Israeli minister supports ‘voluntary migration’ of Palestinians in Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict news
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says the right solution is humanity. Critics call it ‘ethnic cleansing’.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has said that “voluntary migration” of Palestinians in Gaza is the “correct humanitarian solution” for the besieged enclave and for the region, a position that was at Palestinian officials similar to supporting “ethnic cleansing”.
Smotrich’s comments come after US lawmakers Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations, and Ram Ben-Barak, former deputy director of the Mossad intelligence agency, published an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal on Monday recommended the transfer of some of the population of Gaza. to nations that accept them.
“I welcome the initiative of Knesset members Ram Ben-Barak and Danny Danon on the voluntary immigration of Gaza Arabs to the countries of the world. This is the right humanitarian solution for the residents of Gaza and the entire region,” Smotrich wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“A cell with a small territory like the Gaza Strip, without natural resources and independent sources of livelihood, has no chance to exist independently, economically and politically, in such a high density for a long time.
“The reception of refugees by the countries of the world that really want their welfare, with the support and generous financial support of the international community, and within the state of Israel is the only solution that will end the suffering and the suffering. the pain of Jews and Arabs alike.”
“The State of Israel will not be able to put up with an independent group in Gaza,” he said.
In response to his comments, Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said in a post on X that the minister revealed “the true policy and intentions of the Israeli government”.
“Netanyahu himself said at the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza that all Gazans must evacuate their homes. Ethnic cleansing is a war crime and is carried out by attacking a defenseless civilian population.”
Smotrich revealed the true policy and intentions of the Israeli government. Netanyahu himself said at the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza that all Gazans must evacuate their homes. Ethnic cleansing is a war crime and is committed by attacking a defenseless civilian population.
— Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghout1) November 14, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reportedly lobbied European leaders to help him convince the Egyptian president to bring in refugees from Gaza. Israel’s Ministry of Information had also outlined a proposal to “evacuate” all Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt.
In March, Smotrich received backlash after he said the Palestinian people were an “invention” of the last century, with Palestinian officials blasting his comments as proof of a “racist” view. ” Israel’s far-right government.
In their article on Monday, Danon and Ben-Barak said Europe had a long history of helping refugees fleeing conflict, and from that example, “countries across the world to offer asylum to Gaza residents seeking displacement”.
“Countries can achieve this by creating well-structured and internationally coordinated resettlement programs,” they wrote.
The majority of Palestinians were expelled from their homeland in 1948 when the state of Israel was created – an event they refer to as the Nakba, or “catastrophe”.
Most of the people in Gaza today are the children or grandchildren of those who were displaced during the Nakba. They are now at risk of being uprooted again permanently, which is a war crime under international law.
