Israeli lawmaker calls for Gaza land seizure to expand illegal settlements

By Abderaouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli Member of the Knesset (parliament) on Friday called for part of the Gaza Strip to be seized and settled by Israeli citizens.

“We must stay in Gaza, and what will keep the Israeli army there is settlement because the army follows settlement,” Avichai Boron told the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

Boron from the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the people of Gaza must pay the price for the Palestinian group Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. “We must carve out a part of Gaza,” he added.

Boron further emphasized that “the Israeli army must remain there, even if we decide to settle in Gaza or not until a civilian government friendly to Israel is formed."

This is not the first call for settlement expansion in Gaza since the Israeli war began. On Tuesday, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also advocated for re-occupying Gaza and reducing its Palestinian population by encouraging voluntary migration.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing over 44,300 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,900.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara