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Far right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has advocated for Israel to kill “30 to 40” Palestinians in Gaza every night, in the latest genocidal remarks from members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
In a podcast interview with former Hamas captive Rom Braslavski on Sunday, National Security Minister Ben-Gvir said that these killings should go beyond people who “pose an immediate threat,” in a seeming call to target civilians.
“I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat,” Ben-Gvir said, per a translation by The Associated Press.
“There are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people,” he went on, echoing former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s “human animals” remark about Palestinians early in the genocide.
The Israeli minister emphasized his wish for Israel to take over Gaza, saying that “all Gaza” belongs to Israel, per Financial Times. He called for Israel to establish illegal settlements in Gaza and expel Palestinians living there.
“I imagine settlements not just in Gush Katif but throughout Gaza, and encouraging emigration, the more the better,” he said, speaking of the right’s push to reestablish illegal Israeli settlements that were dismantled when Israel withdrew its 38-year occupation of Gaza in 2005. “And for the terrorists, there should be no emigration. We should just kill them one by one.”
Ben-Gvir, who overlooks Israel’s mass imprisonment of Palestinians, said that he also disagrees with Netanyahu’s recent minor decrease in the intensity of attacks in Israel’s genocide in Gaza — even though deadly Israeli strikes have still continued, and Israel is still carrying out its genocide in every other way. This is being done as the Trump administration looks to strike a long term agreement between Israel and Gaza.
“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” Ben-Gvir said.
The remarks were one in a long line of genocidal and hateful remarks against Palestinians that Ben-Gvir has espoused through his life and career. Most recently, the minister, who is a critical part of Netanyahu’s far right coalition government, faced criticism for posting an AI-generated video mockingly depicting a Palestinian detainee starving in one of his prisons.
Ben-Gvir also reassured Braslavski that he would “turn the world upside down to make” it so that Braslavski can fulfill his dream of personally killing every Palestinian convicted under Israel’s new law mandating the death penalty for certain crimes.
Ben-Gvir’s statements generated backlash, leading some pro-Israel groups to respond. Lobbying group Democratic Majority for Israel said that Ben-Gvir’s remark was “indefensible” and says that Netanyahu — facing a contentious election in October — should remove him from the government. The group also said that it is “not Israeli government policy” to kill dozens of Palestinians every night in Gaza.
But, for years, this simply has not been true. As of the latest counts, Israel has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza in its nearly three years of genocide, amounting to roughly 70 people per day on average since October 7, 2023. The killing has slowed since the enactment of the “ceasefire” last October, but has not stopped, with Israel continuing to kill Palestinians on a near-daily basis. Israeli attacks have killed 1,258 amid the “ceasefire,” amounting to roughly four people a day, including one child daily on average.
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