Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that bringing aid into the Gaza Strip contradicts the goals of the war, revealing that he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the issue, and that “this will change soon.”
Yesterday, Wednesday, during an interview with Israeli Army Radio, Smotrich called for reducing the population of Gaza to about 100,000 or 200,000 Palestinians, without explaining the methods he proposed for this.
Haaretz newspaper quoted Smotrich as saying, “If there were 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not two million, the entire discussion about the next day after the war would change.”
The right-wing minister – who leads the extremist “Jewish Home” party – renewed his call for the return of Israeli settlers to Gaza, and said that Israel must impose its control over the Strip to restore its security, and added, “In order to control the region militarily over time, we must also have a civilian presence.” there”.
The far-right minister said that his “demand is that the Gaza Strip not remain a “hotbed in which two million people grow up to hate the State of Israel and aspire to destroy it.”
A call to displace the population of Gaza
Yesterday, Smotrich called for encouraging what he described as “voluntary migration” of Gaza residents, and finding countries ready to receive them.
He urged Tel Aviv to search for countries willing to receive the residents of Gaza. Smotrich added, “We must stay in Gaza for a long time, and I encourage a radical change in the Strip,” expressing his refusal for the Palestinian Authority to take over the reins in the Gaza Strip.
He said that he supports a complete change in the reality in Gaza, by holding a discussion on settlement there.
During Israel’s war on Gaza, Smotrich made controversial statements that received disapproving and disapproving reactions. Such as: his description of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as Nazis, his demand to establish security buffer zones around settlements and roads and to prevent Arabs from entering them, and his demand on Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant – as well – to stop the Palestinian olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank.
