Nissim Vaturi, the deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset, has called for all adult men in Gaza to be killed in the latest example of genocidal rhetoric from an Israeli official.
“Who is innocent in Gaza? Civilians went out and slaughtered people in cold blood,” Vaturi told Kol BaRama radio. “We need to separate the children and women and kill the adults in Gaza, we are being too considerate.”
Vaturi, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, referred to the Palestinians in Gaza as “subhumans” and “scoundrels” and said no one in the world wants to take them in. “The international community understands that the residents of Gaza are not welcome anywhere and is pushing them towards Israel,” he said.
The deputy speaker also said the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank will soon turn into Gaza as Israel is ramping up its assault there. He said Palestinians being freed from Israeli jails as part of the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal should be put in Jenin so they could be “eliminated” later on.
“Erase Jenin. Don’t start looking for the terrorists – if there’s a terrorist in the house, take him down, tell the women and children to get out,” Vaturi said.
Last year, Vaturi claimed there were “no innocents” in Gaza and called for the entire place to be “burned down” so Israeli soldiers wouldn’t get hurt.
” What does it mean to burn? To go in and rip them apart. There should be no thoughts, no considerations. The soldiers of the IDF should not think for one second and be hurt because we need to be humane,” Vaturi said.
Such rhetoric from Israeli officials has been cited in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice to demonstrate Israel’s intent to commit genocide.