Outrage as Israel’s Far-Right Minister Proposes ‘Voluntary Migration’ for Palestinians in Gaza
Israeli far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich sparked outrage on Tuesday as he said that the ‘voluntary’ migration of Palestinians from Gaza is the “right humanitarian solution” for the besieged and war-torn Strip.
Smotrich made his remarks following the publication in the Wall Street Journal, on Monday, of an article by Danny Danon, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, and Ram Ben-Barak, former deputy director of the Israeli spy agency Mossad.
In the commentary, entitled ‘The West Should Welcome Gaza Refugees’, Danon and Ben-Barak suggested moving some of Gaza’s population to countries ready to accept them.
“I welcome the initiative of members of Knesset Ram Ben-Barak and Danny Danon on the voluntary immigration of Gaza Arabs to the countries of the world. This is the right humanitarian solution for the residents of Gaza and the entire region,” Smotrich wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“The reception of refugees by the countries of the world that really want their best interests, with the support and generous financial assistance of the international community and within the state of Israel, is the only solution that will bring to an end the suffering and pain of Jews and Arabs alike,” he continued, adding: “The state of Israel will no longer be able to put up with the existence of an independent entity in Gaza.”
The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Smotrich’s comments as “part of Israel’s colonial, racist plan” for Palestinians.
On October 17, the ‘Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy’, an Israeli think tank, published a position paper in which they outlined their proposed ethnic cleansing plan.
“There is at the moment a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the whole Gaza Strip in coordination with the Egyptian government,” the paper read.
This was then followed, shortly after, by a report released on the Israeli news website Calcalist, which outlined a document proposing the same strategy.
(The Palestine Chronicle)