Last night’s news reported that Israeli ministers had hardened their rhetoric concerning Palestinians. Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who represents the Likud, the main governing party, said that Israel would empty Gaza of its inhabitants as soon as the United States identifies a place to which they can be deported.
Such statements are not in accordance with any international law; quite the contrary. Even so, they are less extreme than the fantasies voiced by Katz’s ministerial colleague and leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, about assassinating 30–40 Gazans every night.
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In both cases, the ultimate consequence of the ministers’ publicly voiced thoughts for international politics is unambiguous: they weaken Israel’s position. And by doing so, they strengthen sympathy for Palestinians elsewhere in the world, thereby empowering activism that supports them.
It is of course clear that Katz’s statements are in reality much more serious than Ben-Gvir’s fantasies about assassinations. This is so simply because he represents the ruling Likud rather than some small extremist party.
Furthermore, Katz’s statements are made more credible by the fact that no solution guaranteeing Israel’s security has been found to the problem of Gaza even over the course of decades—as the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 clearly demonstrated. This undoubtedly frustrates even those decision-makers in the Jewish state who would like to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the problem of the two peoples of the so-called Holy Land.
On the other hand, it is quite clear that the publicly voiced thoughts of the ministers mentioned above are like winning the lottery for Hamas, whose position had already weakened after the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023, and its consequences. After all, no significant Western politician can defend or support genocidal statements—or even calls for the forced displacement of a population—coming from ministers of a democratic government. Not now, and not in the future.
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It therefore remains to be seen how the situation between Israel and the Palestinians will develop in the future. The positions we have now heard did not arise out of nowhere, but reflect the deep frustration among Israeli Jews with the unresolved Palestinian issue, which has continued for decade after decade, and with its terrorist consequences.
Unfortunately, solutions are in short supply in a situation where neither side trusts the other. Nor did the Palestinian leadership accept independence at the time, even though it was offered.
Moreover, at least Hamas still has no genuine desire today to give up its dream of extending its rule—as they themselves put it—“from the river to the sea,” meaning over the entire territory of present-day Israel. And at the same time, to remove all Jews from the area.
That is why it seems to me that the confrontation and violence between the populations of the Holy Land will continue for decades, if not for centuries. And I would not be surprised at all if the solution—whenever it inevitably comes—were to follow the ideas expressed by the Israeli ministers discussed here. Or, alternatively, the dreams of Palestinian terrorists of driving the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea.
Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Finland’s Foreign Minister Explained Why the States That Have Recognized Palestine Are Well-Meaning Fools
Optimism and Reality of the Gaza Peace Proposal
Palestine’s Statehood and International Law
