DISPLACED: The photo shows a tent camp in Rafah, with Palestinians who have fled their homes due to Israeli bombings. Photo: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / Reuters / NTB
Israel’s Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich says Jewish settlers must be allowed to return to Gaza, and that the Palestinian population must be encouraged to emigrate.
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– 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.
Believes the Palestinians should be moved
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.
Betzalel Smotrich, here during a vote in the Knesset in 2021. Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP / NTB
Al Jazeera: Over 70 percent destroyed
Over 70 percent of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli bombings since the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, according to local authorities. It writes Al Jazeera.
A review done by Wall Street Journal, shows that around 300,000 out of 429,000 homes have been destroyed by Israeli attacks. The newspaper has looked at drone images, and found that 29,000 bombs have been dropped in residential areas, over churches, hospitals and shopping malls in the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera.
The death toll is approaching 22,000 in Gaza since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. Over 56,000 are injured.
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Published: 31.12.23 at 16:55
2023-12-31 15:55:43
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