Two ministers criticized
US condemns Israeli expulsion plans
January 3, 2024, 2:53 a.m
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After winning the war against Hamas, two ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet can imagine Israel taking possession of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians should be resettled. There is clear headwind from the US State Department.
The US State Department has sharply criticized statements from Israel’s government about the possible expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. “The United States rejects recent statements by Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir supporting the relocation of Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington. “This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible.”
The Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly assured that such statements do not represent the government line, emphasized Miller. “You should stop immediately.” The Gaza Strip is Palestinian land and will remain so when Hamas is no longer in control there.
“We will live in the Gaza Strip”
The two right-wing extremist Israeli ministers had spoken out in favor of Israeli repopulation of the Gaza Strip after the war against Hamas. Police Minister Ben-Gvir said on Monday the war was an opportunity to promote the “resettlement of Gaza residents.” Finance Minister Smotrich told Israeli Army Radio on Sunday that if Israel does things right, there will be an exodus of Palestinians “and we will live in the Gaza Strip.” Smotrich is considered a champion of the vision of “Greater Israel” and also advocates for an annexation of the West Bank.
The Palestinians, on the other hand, claim the West Bank, Gaza and the Arab-dominated eastern part of Jerusalem as the territory of a future state of their own. Israel conquered the territories in 1967. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and evacuated more than 20 Israeli settlements. For the United Nations, the Gaza Strip remains Israeli-occupied territory because it controls all entrances except for one border crossing. Israel maintains that the occupation ended with the withdrawal in 2005.
The USA is clearly against Israel reoccupying the Gaza Strip. They also reject the forced displacement of the 2.2 million Palestinians who live in the narrow coastal strip. The US wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to take control after the war. However, Netanyahu rejects this. He wants the army to maintain security control even after the war and calls for the demilitarization of Gaza.