Israeli minister slams US for condemning call for mass exodus of Gazans
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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had called for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged enclave, making way for Israelis who could “make the desert bloom”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JERUSALEM – Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has hit back at ally the United States over its criticism of his push for the transfer of Gazans out of the Palestinian territory.
“The United States is our best friend, but first of all we will do what is best for the State of Israel: the migration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza will allow the (Israeli) residents of the envelope to return home and live in security and will protect the IDF (Israeli) soldiers,” the far-right minister posted on X late on Jan 2.
“We highly value America’s friendship, but respectfully, we aren’t another star on the American flag,” he said.
The Biden administration had on Jan 2 criticised two Israeli ministers over their call to resettle Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.
It was a rare public rebuke that underscores deepening divisions between the US and Israel over the territory’s fate.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that Mr Ben-Gvir had called for a plan that would see Palestinians in Gaza immigrate to other countries.
Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich had called for Jewish settlements in Gaza, according to Haaretz.
Rhetoric by Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir “is inflammatory and irresponsible” and “should stop immediately”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Jan 2.
“We have been clear, consistent and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel,” he added.
Mr Miller said Israel has repeatedly told the US that such statements “do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government”, according to the statement.
The US State Department has repeatedly rejected such calls for resettlement but has rarely mentioned ministers who made them by name.
The two ministers’ statements have generated fresh concerns about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians in the weeks since Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people, on Oct 7.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health authorities say Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed some 22,000 Palestinians. AFP, BLOOMBERG
