Israeli Housing Minister Calls for Jewish Settlements in Gaza
Israeli Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf (C) looks at a map of Gaza, Nov. 28, 2024. X/ @1962Wren
November 28, 2024 Hour: 11:23 am
He justified his proposal as a necessary response to actions by the Hamas resistance movement and the International Criminal Court.
On Thursday, Israeli Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, an ultra-Orthodox politician, urged the construction of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
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He justified his proposal as a necessary response to actions by the Hamas resistance movement and the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
In addition to holding public office, Goldknopf is the leader of the United Torah Judaism party, which represents ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews.
The Israeli NGO Peace Now, which monitors the development of settlements in the occupied West Bank, accused Goldknopf of supporting the aspirations of “a small group of messianic extremists” rather than focusing on the hundreds of thousands of people displaced from communities near Gaza.
“The government that has brought upon us the greatest catastrophe in our history and is sacrificing 101 brothers and sisters on the altar of Gaza settlements is a criminal government that must be overthrown,” said Peace Now, referring to the 101 hostages still held by Hamas.
“It is time to make it clear to this failing government: We will not die for settlements! We demand an end to this war of destruction and the return of our hostages—no settlements, no annexations,” the NGO added.
Opposition leader Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity Party, emphasized the urgency of creating a plan to free the hostages and opposed the resettlement of Israeli settlers in the Palestinian enclave. “We need to get the kidnapped people out of Gaza and not let settlers back in… We must stick to this and not be distracted by anything else,” he stated in an interview with Radio 102FM.
On Wednesday, an Egyptian delegation traveled to Tel Aviv to discuss new negotiations for a possible truce in the Gaza Strip with Israeli officials, following the enactment of a ceasefire between Israel and the Shiite group Hezbollah in Lebanon the previous day.
teleSUR/ JF Source- EFE
