– To be safe we must control the territory, and to have control militarily for a longer period of time we must have a civilian presence, the ultra-nationalist minister told the Israeli army radio on Sunday.
The government of Benjamin Netanyahu has not officially indicated that it has plans to remove the Palestinian population and open Jewish settlements in Gaza after the war.
Israel withdrew all Jewish settlements and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, but at the same time imposed total control over the area’s borders.
All settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, are considered illegal under international law.
In the interview, Smotrich said that all of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents should be moved to other countries.
– If we act strategically correctly, and there are only 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs left in Gaza, not two million, the whole perception of the war will be different, he said.
Over 21,800 Palestinians, the vast majority women and children, have been killed so far in Israel’s war. 85 percent of the population has been displaced, and large parts of the territory have been reduced to rubble by bombing and ground warfare.
2023-12-31 15:50:39
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