White House slams comments made by Israel ministers at resettlement conference as ‘incendiary and irresponsible’

The White House criticised statements made by Israeli politicians at a conference in Jerusalem on Sunday, calling for resettlement in the besieged Gaza Strip, as “incendiary and irresponsible”.

Israeli settlement groups held a conference in Jerusalem after the devastating Israeli genocidal war that has been ongoing for 114 days, which was attended by 12 ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and more than 15 members of the Knesset, amid calls from the participants to displace the Palestinians.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council released a statement expressing the US feeling “troubled” about the assembly, specifically noting the host of controversial remarks made by Israeli ministers advocating for the widespread displacement of the Palestinian population in Gaza.

“We have also been clear, consistent and unequivocal against the forced relocation of Palestinians outside of Gaza,” the White House statement says. “This rhetoric is incendiary and irresponsible, and we take the Prime Minister at his word when he says that Israel does not intend to reoccupy Gaza,” the statement adds.

The Chairman of the Samaria Regional Council in the West Bank, Yossi Dagan, began the conference by saying, “The Oslo Accords are dead, the people of Israel live,” noting “After the holocaust we suffered [on 7 October], the only ethical and godly decision is to return to the northern Samaria settlements and to return to the Gaza Strip, to Gush Katif.”

“We have struggled together for 16 years to correct the shame of disengagement, deportation and displacement of settlements,” referring to Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip settlements in 2005 during the premiership of Ariel Sharon.

Moreover, when Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who began his political career as an activist in the terrorist Kach movement, began the speech, the audience began chanting “Transfer… Transfer.” Ben-Gvir said in response, “They are right, they must be encouraged to leave voluntarily.”

“We need to return to our home [Gaza], control the land, push for a solution to encourage immigration [the emigration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip] and enact a death penalty law for terrorists.”

These statements come at a time when the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip continues, in its 116th consecutive day, leaving more than 26,637 Palestinians martyred and about 65,387 wounded, the majority of whom are children and women, as the Occupation commits hundreds of crimes against families in their homes.

It also comes after the ICJ (the highest judicial body affiliated with the United Nations) ordered the Israeli Occupation authorities to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza and direct incitement to it.

The Israeli offensive has left 85 per cent of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

READ: Israel minister calls for military rule in Gaza, expelling UNRWA