Israeli minister proposes to significantly reduce number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip

Published at: 01/01/2024 03:01 PM

The Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, made a clear call this Sunday to continue the genocide against the Palestinian people by the Zionist regime to gain control of the Gaza Strip.

In an interview quoted by Haaretz, the official noted that Israel must significantly reduce the number of Palestinian residents in the Strip to “make the desert bloom.”

“If there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza instead of two million, the whole speech about the day after will be different,” said the minister of the Religious Zionist Party, suggesting the displacement of about 90% of the enclave's residents.

He noted that “to militarily control the territory over time, you must also have a (Israeli) civilian presence there.”

Smotrich called on Palestinians living in Gaza to leave the besieged enclave to make way for the Israelis. “What needs to be done in the Gaza Strip is to encourage emigration (...) Most of Israeli society will say: 'Why not? It's a beautiful place, let's make the desert flourish, '” he added.

In response, Hamas denounced that Smotrich's statements represent “a war crime accompanied by criminal aggression”. The President of Palestine, Mahmud Abbas, also rejected any measure that would force Palestinians to leave their homes. “We will not allow movement, neither from the Gaza Strip nor from the West Bank,” the president said in a speech given on Sunday.

WRITING MAZO/RT