After the ultra-right Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, the extremist Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, also called for the return of Jewish settlers to the Gaza Strip. The withdrawal of Palestinians and the reestablishment of Israeli settlements is “a correct, fair, moral and humane solution,” Ben Gvir said on Monday at a meeting of his Jewish Force party.
“This is an opportunity to develop a project that encourages Gazans to emigrate to other countries in the world,” said Ben Gvir. Both Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party, and Ben Gvir live in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Radical Islamist Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, dismissed Ben Gvir's statements as a “daydream”. “They will not find a way to implement it in the face of our resilient and steadfast Palestinian people and their heroic resistance,” the Islamic group said.
Israel completely withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, after 38 years of occupation. The radical Islamist Hamas emerged victorious in the elections held there a year later. It finally took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, after armed clashes with Fatah, the secular rival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
On October 7, hundreds of fighters from Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the US, entered Israel and committed atrocities, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli information, around 1,140 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip, of which 129 are still believed to be held by Hamas.
Since then, Israel has bombed targets in the Gaza Strip and launched a ground offensive. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Monday that at least 21,978 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war. Information cannot be independently verified.