Israel National Security Minister Ben-Gvir calls for full Occupation of Gaza, emigration of Palestinians

During an interview on Israel’s Channel 13, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir asserts that Israel should ‘occupy Gaza and stay there.’ Detailing his stance, Ben Gvir proposes a ‘plan of encouragement’ aimed at inducing Palestinians to leave the area. His remarks come amidst a backdrop of contrasting strategies within the Israeli government, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighing Ben Gvir’s aggressive approach against Benny Gantz’s focus on altering war objectives to secure the release of Israeli captives.

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Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has again called for the “Occupation of the Gaza Strip” and the emigration of its Palestinians from the besieged Territory, as the Occupation state’s authorities and war cabinet continue to debate the future of Gaza after the ongoing war.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13, Ben-Gvir – leader of the far-right Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party – criticised the progress of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip and urged for more to be done to “bring about a resolution”. He stated that the Israeli forces themselves “are doing an excellent job”, but that the ruling coalition and cabinet “must give them support to resolve it”.

The resolution Ben-Gvir referred to was clarified when he further stated that “Gaza must be occupied. Stay inside it and encourage the voluntary migration of its residents. If we win the war, it will be practically accomplished”.

Read: Israel minister calls for ‘ways more painful than death’ for Palestinians

This is not the first time the far-right National Security Minister has made such calls, but is the latest to have been issued by him since the start of Israel’s ongoing bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip, following the 7 October incursion into Israeli-held territory by Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas.

Similar calls have been made by other officials, such as Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and Knesset member for the Likud party, Danny Danon, who have in recent weeks called for encouraging the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza. Such an exodus of Palestinians from the Territory would presumably be followed by the re-occupation of the Strip by Israeli authorities and its resettlement by illegal Jewish settlers.

The issue continues to be internally debated within Israel’s body politic, however, with others believing that a compliant Arab authority – either Palestinian through the Palestinian Authority (PA) or a combined force of surrounding Arab states – should be instated to govern the Territory after the war’s end. So far, no post-war plan has yet been entirely confirmed or openly formulated and released.

Read: Israeli settlers making plans to move to Gaza after war

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