Israeli far-right minister to push for ‘migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of “encouraging the migration” of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

“We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state,” said Smotrich, speaking at an event organised by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

“We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

“There is no other long-term solution,” he added.

Since last week, Israel’s security cabinet has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amounts to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.