Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that within a few months, the Gaza Strip will be “totally destroyed” and the entire Palestinian population will be “concentrated” into a tiny area in the southern part of the Palestinian territory before being forced to leave as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign.
“Within a few months, we will be able to declare that we have won. Gaza will be totally destroyed,” Smotrich said at a conference on illegal settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to The Times of Israel.
“In another six months, Hamas won’t exist as a functioning entity… The population of Gaza will be concentrated from the Morag Corridor southwards. The rest of the Strip will be empty,” Smotrich said.
The Morag Corridor refers to a strip of land between the southern Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.
“The Gazan citizens will be concentrated in the south. They will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places,” Smotrich added.
The Israeli minister said that the Palestinian population will “leave in great numbers to third countries.” Throughout Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Smotrich has been an outspoken proponent of the ethnic cleansing of the territory.
Smotrich’s comments come after the Israeli government approved military plans to completely occupy Gaza. According to Axios, the plan will involve flattening every single building, forcing the civilian population into one small area, and pressuring Palestinians to leave, though it’s unclear where they could go.
In his speech on Tuesday, Smotrich also vowed that the current Israeli government would annex the West Bank. “It will happen this term. It is one of our most important challenges. We are at a historic opportunity,” he said.
Smotrich is a West Bank settler himself and holds another ministerial position in the Defense Ministry that gives him the power to expand settlements in the occupied territory.
