Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has made controversial statements regarding the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, suggesting that 'Two million Palestinians must not be allowed to remain' and that efforts should be made to significantly reduce the number of residents to 100,000 to 200,000. Smotrich used the term 'ghetto' to describe Gaza and advocated for Palestinians to be forcibly displaced or encouraged to emigrate, adding 'We won't permit a scenario' where the current population of 1.8 to 2 million remains. These remarks have sparked outrage and have been condemned by Hamas in an official statement, which likened Smotrich's calls to those of a 'Nazi government' and accused him of advocating for ethnic cleansing. The statements suggest a plan to transform Gaza into an area with parks and gardens and allow for the return of Jewish settlers after the war.
Openly calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza just like Smotrich https://t.co/3tyfXTHIBT
Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich calls for Palestinians in Gaza to leave the besieged enclave and make way for Israelis https://t.co/5ubHVdbcKm https://t.co/tMZJaIUhei
Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich calls for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged enclave and make way for Israelis https://t.co/5ubHVdbcKm https://t.co/iDnWxL0gU8
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel #Smotrich calls for the return of Jewish settlers to the #GazaStrip after the war and says its Palestinian population should be encouraged to emigrate. https://t.co/8dq9nD6eVF
JUST IN: Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich says 'we need to encourage immigration' from Gaza, adding that if 'there were 100,000 to 200,000 Arabs in the Strip and not two million, the entire conversation about the day after would be completely different'.
🇵🇸OFFICIAL HAMAS STATEMENT | CONDEMNS ISRAEL FINANCE MINISTER “The extremist Minister Smotrich’s call on his Nazi government to displace two million Palestinians and leave only about two hundred thousand in the Gaza Strip... and to turn the lands of Gaza into gardens and parks… https://t.co/mF6GsvV8aK
BREAKING: HAMAS OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON ETHNIC CLEANSING “The extremist minister Smotrich's call for his Nazi government to displace two million Palestinians and keep only about two hundred thousand in the Gaza Strip, and to transform the lands of Gaza into parks and… https://t.co/hoJ2FT4uZV
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel must control the territory in the Gaza Strip and significantly reduce the number of Palestinian residents in Gaza https://t.co/BE4fldAjyV
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, during an interview, advocates for the execution of plans to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza: "If we strategically execute our plans, there will be emigration, and we will reside in the Gaza Strip. We won't permit a scenario… https://t.co/w0cpK1fUnk
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich says Gaza’s population should be “encouraged” to emigrate, whittling it down to 100–200,000 people, and then the area should be resettled with Israeli Jews. https://t.co/AJy7DF4N8m
Live update: Smotrich: 1.8 million Gazans should be encouraged to emigrate to change facts on the ground after war https://t.co/PFGCBkMrl4 . Click to read ⬇️
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, calls the Gaza Strip a "ghetto" and advocates for Palestinians living there to be forcibly displaced. https://t.co/bK8QSZhCFB
⚡️Zionist Finance Minister Smotrich: “Two million Palestinians must not be allowed to remain in Gaza after the war”
This is ethnic cleansing. https://t.co/RvYTWfzCyE
This is a call for ethnic cleansing https://t.co/suLjvzVuU7