Ben-Gvir wants to ‘crush’ Palestinians ‘one by one’

Middle East Monitor  /  February 27, 2023

Israel’s extreme far-right national security minister pledged today to “crush [Palestinians] one by one,” Haaretz has reported. Itamar Ben-Gvir made his comment while speaking to illegal settlers at the equally illegal settlement “outpost” of Evyatar as they were being evicted by the occupation authorities.

“Our enemies need to hear a message of settlement, but also one of crushing them one by one,” he said. “This is not a war that began yesterday, not a war that’s going to end in one day, but it’s a war for our home, for our lives.”

He urged the settlers not to take the law into their hands as they attack the Palestinians. The state of Israel, he said, will do the job for them.

“I understand the hard feelings, but this is not the way,” said Ben-Gvir, referring to the mob violence and arson in the Palestinian village of Huwara yesterday.

“We do not take the law into our own hands. The government of Israel, the State of Israel, the [Israel Defence Forces], the security forces; they are the ones who have to crush our enemies.”