Smotrich, Ben-Gvir: 'Open hell’s gates; bomb aid, execute detainees'
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Israeli officials escalate anti-Gaza rhetoric, with the Finance Minister pushing for total occupation and displacement.
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Israeli right wing Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir, left, and Bezalel Smotrich look on during the swearing-in ceremony for Israeli lawmakers at the Knesset, Israeli parliament, in occupied al-Quds, on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022 (AP)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the next phase of the war in Gaza should involve the complete occupation of the enclave, paving the way for the implementation of US President Donald Trump's plan to "resettle Gaza’s entire population" in other countries, Israeli media reported.
"The next step in the war in Gaza will be cutting off the electricity and water, and opening the gates of hell on Gaza with a powerful, deadly, and quick attack," Smotrich told The Jerusalem Post.
Ben-Gvir calls to bomb aid depots, threatens Palestinian detainees with execution
In a similar vein, former Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for halting the entry of aid into Gaza but urged him to take even more extreme measures, including bombing existing aid depots in the enclave to “suffocate Hamas and make it surrender and return all our hostages.”
“To make this happen, Gaza must endure hell. And hell also means bombing all the aid depots that Hamas holds,” Ben-Gvir told reporters before his party’s weekly faction meeting at the Knesset.
He also called for cutting off electricity and water supplies entirely.
“I call on the prime minister to announce that Israel will take these steps, before returning to fighting, which of course must also happen,” he said.
Ben-Gvir acknowledged the risks of such a strategy, including potential harm to the Israeli captives. To deter this, he argued, "Israel" should warn Hamas that “harming an Israeli hostage will be met with the execution of terrorists in Israeli prisons through emergency regulations, and the permanent imposition of sovereignty over large areas in the Gaza Strip.”
“These are not trivial steps for those who hold progressive values, but for the only Jewish state in the Middle East surrounded by a host of enemies who seek its destruction, these are necessary steps for its continued existence,” he declared.
When asked whether he would support Netanyahu’s coalition if ultra-Orthodox parties opposed the 2025 state budget, Ben-Gvir declined to give a clear answer, stating that he would wait until the Haredi parties decided on their position.
Hamas lists Israeli violations of ceasefire, urges second phase talks
"Israel" and its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, seek to resume the aggression and crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip following the conclusion of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, while attempting to hide behind the US position, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan pointed out on Monday.
In a televised statement, Hamdan noted that Israeli violations have not stopped since the very first moment of the ceasefire.
"Violations of the agreement during the first phase prove beyond a doubt that the (Israeli) occupation government was interested in the collapse of the agreement and worked hard to this end," he said.
The Palestinian official described Netanyahu’s recent decision to adopt a US proposal for extending the first phase of the agreement—through arrangements that contradict the original terms—as "a blatant attempt to evade the agreement and avoid entering into negotiations for the second phase."
"The occupation is pushing to return things to square one and overturn the agreement through the alternatives it is proposing," Hamdan warned.
Read next: Hamas lists Israeli violations of ceasefire, urges second phase talks
