Encourage Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip? Israel needed nothing more to attract the wrath of the international community. For forty-eight hours, disavowals and condemnations have been raining down. And unease is spreading among the ranks of the Jewish state’s closest allies. First and foremost, the United States and France.
In question ? Comments made by two members of the Israeli government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The media sequence begins this Sunday, December 31, under the eye of the cameras of Israeli Channel 12.
“To have security, we must control the territory and for that, we need a civilian presence on site,” sketches Bezalel Smotrich, also leader of the far-right “Religious Zionism” party, member of the government coalition. . And he clarified: “If there were 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza compared to two million today, the discourse would not be the same.” Translation: It is time for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to emigrate to other countries.
The influence of the far right
It took less than twenty-four hours for his colleague at National Security, also head of the far-right pro-settler “Jewish Force” party, to follow suit. “We must encourage the migration of the population of Gaza, because it is the right solution, the fairest, the most moral and the most humane,” argued Itamar Ben Gvir this Monday, January 1 on his account X (formerly Twitter ).
According to the two ministers, the challenge is above all to allow Israelis to continue to live “in security” on the edge of the Gaza Strip. But in the eyes of part of the international community, the argument does not hold up. The Quai d’Orsay thus called on Israel to “refrain from such provocative statements, which are irresponsible and fuel tensions.” And to recall that it is not the responsibility of the Israeli government “to decide where the Palestinians should live”.
Words disavowed by the allies
A warning which echoes the words of the Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, who underlined from his X account that “forced displacements are strictly prohibited as a serious violation of IHL (International Humanitarian Law, Editor’s note). “
This Wednesday, the spokesperson for the American State Department also firmly condemned the “inflammatory and irresponsible” remarks of the two Israeli ministers, indicating that “the government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu” had affirmed “on several occasions that these statements did not reflect the position of those in power.
Accusations brushed aside by Itamar Ben Gvir. “The United States is our good friend, but above all, we will do what is good for the State of Israel: encouraging the emigration of hundreds of thousands of people from Gaza will allow (Israeli) residents to return home (on the edge of Gaza) and to live in security while protecting our soldiers,” the minister stressed.
Partners ready to welcome Gazans
And added: “The supporters of such a humanitarian solution understand that a small country like ours cannot afford a reality where, just four minutes from our localities, there is a hotbed of hatred and terror, where two million people wake up every morning with the desire to destroy the State of Israel.” A few days earlier, the Minister of Finance had notably affirmed that none of the two million Gazans was “innocent”.
Supporters of a “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have also assured that they have “partners in the world” willing to welcome them. According to several Israeli media, discussions are underway between Tel Aviv and Brazzaville (Congo). Israel is also banking on Saudi Arabia, with whom relations have warmed in recent years. For around ten years, the petromonarchy has multiplied disproportionate projects for new towns. And there is little doubt that an influx of labor would be welcome.