Israel’s Ben-Gvir demands resettlement of Gaza, ‘voluntary migration’ of Palestinians

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir renewed his demand Tuesday for the resettlement of the Gaza Strip and the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the enclave.

“We are committed to returning to Gaza and the northern Samaria (the West Bank). We are committed to settling there,” the leader of the Jewish Power Party said in a statement on Telegram.

He encouraged what he called the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza and the northern West Bank.

“The matter is not limited to Gush Katif,” said Ben-Gvir, himself a settler, in reference to a Jewish-only settlement evacuated by Israel from Gaza in 2005.

"We have to remind ourselves of one thing: It is not enough to build only settlements.”

The extremist minister has made several demands for Palestinians to “voluntarily migrate” from the Gaza Strip, inviting condemnations from several Western countries, including the US, France, the UK and Germany.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal onslaught on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas.

More than 37,350 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 85,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.