Israel’s far-right minister doubles down on forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza

Israeli right-wing minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says the regime of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu should push the migration of Gazans out of the besieged Palestinian territory to make room for the Israelis. 

The Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday continued to order Palestinians to leave their homes in the besieged Gaza Strip. 

Ben-Gvir on Tuesday night hit back at the United States over its criticism of his push for the transfer of Gazans out of 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 (Israeli) soldiers,” the far-right minister posted on X late Tuesday.

Israeli warplanes on Wednesday kept dropping leaflets calling on civilians in several areas in Khan Younis to move.

Palestinians say the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are one indivisible geographical unit.

"I fled from Gaza City to the Qizan Al-Najjar area after the ground invasion began. Qizan Al-Najjar, between Rafah City and Khan Younis, was marked safe earlier," Middle East Eye quoted Younus, a Palestinian man, as saying.

"Three days ago, we received another leaflet to leave Block 87. Today, they added Blocks 83, 84, and 86. I am in Block 85. It was not on the list of blocks to flee, but we are only one street apart from block 86, which makes it very difficult to stay in the middle of the bombardment.”

"At the same time, we do not have any other place to relocate to.  Many people fled from Al-Batn Al-Sameen, near Nasser Hospital. We think Israel wants to launch a ground invasion near Nasser Hospital and this is why they force people to leave."

The besieged strip has been devastated by a three-month bombing campaign that has internally displaced around 90% of the territory's population.

Amid its military offensive on Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military had repeatedly dropped leaflets telling residents they must leave their homes and "evacuate" to areas it claims are safer, which are south of the Wadi Gaza wetlands.

Families risked journeys through the blasted landscape of destroyed buildings and corpses, along the road that Israel had designated as a "humanitarian corridor" through the aggression.

But what awaits Palestinians who move south is still life-threatening. The "evacuation" areas are both heavily bombarded and in a dire humanitarian crisis.

Israeli bombardment has killed thousands of civilians in the areas of the Gaza Strip that Israel has ordered them to move to.

The latest move comes as Ben-Gvir, who has previously been convicted of supporting terrorism and inciting racism, recently said the war presents an “opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza,” branding such a policy as “a correct, just, moral and humane solution.”

Similarly, speaking on Monday, Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the regime “will permanently control the Gaza Strip to ensure security”.

Israel repeating ‘long history of mass forced displacement’ of Palestinians: UN

The Israeli regime is trying to ‘deport the majority of the civilian population en masse’ as part of its plan to ‘permanently alter’ the composition of Gaza’s population, a UN expert has warned.

He stressed that the objective would be achieved through the “permanent presence of Israeli forces” along with “establishing Jewish settlements,” adding that he would present the plan soon to the regime’s war cabinet.

Veteran Arab lawmaker at the Israeli parliament Ahmad Tibi  has condemned Ben-Gvir, saying their rhetoric was “inciting genocide.”

“A day will come and these two senior ministers in the Israeli government will stand before an international tribunal for war crimes,” he stated.

Palestinians return to north Gaza after Israel pulls back troops over ‘high cost of war’

Thousands of Palestinians have reportedly been returning to the north of the Gaza Strip after the withdrawal of some Israeli forces from the area.

 Most Palestinians displaced from their homeland after the Nakba (Catastrophe), when Israel proclaimed its illegal existence on May 15, 1948, have ended up in neighboring Arab states.

Arab leaders have maintained that any latter-day move aimed at forced expulsion of Palestinians would be unacceptable.

The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has killed at least 22,200 people, most of them women and children. More than 57,000 individuals have also been wounded.

However, almost three months into the war, Tel Aviv has failed to achieve its declared objective of eliminating Hamas and finding Israeli captives in Gaza. 

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