ISRAEL’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has hit back at ally the United States over its criticism of his push for the transfer of Gazans out of the Palestinian territory.

“The United States is our best friend, but first of all we will do what is best for the state of Israel: the migration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza will allow the (Israeli) residents of the envelope to return home and live in security and will protect IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers,” the extreme-right minister said on X late yesterday.

His post came after the US State Department criticised his call for a population transfer as “inflammatory and irresponsible”.

Washington has called out both Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, over their calls for Israeli settlers to return to Gaza and for the territory’s Palestinian inhabitants to leave.

“Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land,” the State Department said.

Expelling civilians during a conflict or creating unlivable conditions that force them to leave is a war crime.

The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been forced out of their homes by nearly three months of fighting between Hamas militants and Israel.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 22,185 people have been killed in the war, mostly civilians, while relentless strikes have left much of the territory in ruins.

The fighting erupted after Hamas’s October 7 attack, which killed around 1,140 people, most of them civilians, an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures showed. – AFP, January 3, 2024.