1Berita – Saudi Arabia condemns the call of two Israeli ministers seeking to expel Palestinian residents from the Gaza Strip on Thursday (4/1).
The Saudi Arabian government rejects the “extremist” statements of Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, who advocate the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and the return of Zionist settlers to the enclave.
“The government emphasizes the importance of joint efforts with the international community to activate international accountability mechanisms against the Israeli occupation government’s persistence in violating international legitimacy rules and international humanitarian law through its statements and actions,” stated the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as quoted by Al Arabiya.
The Saudi Ministry’s statement responds to the remarks of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir earlier this week advocating the expulsion of Gaza residents and the resettlement of Israelis in the region.
Smotrich stated that the presence of Israeli civilians in the Gaza Strip would help Israel control the area militarily. He also suggested that Palestinians should be encouraged to move to other countries.
“If we act strategically and encourage emigration, if there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza instead of two million, the entire discourse after [the war] will be very different,” he said.
Ben-Gvir echoed Smotrich’s comments, stating that Israel “must promote a solution to encourage the emigration of Gaza’s population.”
Although the two ministers have made such comments, the Israeli government has not officially announced any plans regarding Gaza so far.
The expulsion plan has been strongly condemned by the global community. United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk expressed being “deeply disturbed” by the statements of the two ministers.
“I am deeply disturbed by statements from some senior officials in Israel regarding plans to transfer civilians from Gaza to a third country,” Turk said on Thursday (4/1), as quoted by AFP.
Israel’s allies, such as the United States and the Netherlands, have also rejected the ideas of the two Israeli ministers.
The U.S. State Department stated that Ben Gvir and Smotrich’s statements are “highly provocative and irresponsible.”
“This rhetoric is highly provocative and irresponsible. We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the Israeli Government, including by the Prime Minister, that these statements do not represent Israeli policy. They must stop immediately,” said the U.S. State Department.
Meanwhile, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the plan as it does not align with the two-state solution advocated by the global community.
“This is not in line with the two-state solution for the future, namely a Palestinian state that can coexist peacefully with Israel,” stated the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly seriously considering “relocating” Gaza residents to other countries.
The coalition led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly quietly exploring the transfer of thousands of migrants from Gaza, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo being one of the countries under consideration.
