WASHINGTON: The United States (US) on Monday sharply denounced comments from a number of Israeli ministers who called for the resettlement of the besieged Gaza Strip as the war continues to ravage the coastal enclave, Anadolu Agency reported.
“You got a couple of ministers in the cabinet using this reckless behaviour, or conducting this reckless behaviour, and making these incendiary comments,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House.
Israeli ultranationalist settlers held a conference on Gaza’s resettlement on Sunday. They called for the resettlement of the Gaza Strip as well as expanded settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attended the event alongside other ministers and called for the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, also backed resettlement.
The United Nations considers Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal and has repeatedly called on Israel to cease it, to no avail. It has warned that these acts undermine a potential resolution to the conflict based on a two-state solution. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
