The Israeli finance minister criticised the agreement on the table, the November truce and the protests against Netanyahu. Humanitarian aid only exists thanks to international pressure, he said.
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Israel’s finance minister on Monday defended the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which prevents food and medical supplies from entering the enclave. Bezalel Smotrich said this was the only way to get the hostages back and criticised a possible deal with Hamas.
“We let the aid in because we have no other choice. We cannot, in today’s global reality, manage a war. No one will allow us to starve two million civilians, even if it is justified and moral, until our hostages are returned.”the far-right minister justified.
The remarks were made during an annual conference organised by the Israel Hayom newspaper, where Smotrich also took the opportunity to criticise the November agreement and the protests organised by the hostages’ families, which are multiplying across the country, demanding an agreement from the Netanyahu government.
“We have a responsibility, we want to get the hostages back, but an agreement would only return some and seal the fate of the majority as prisoners in Gaza,” he said, adding that the agreement currently being discussed is advantageous to Hamas and “tarnishes the achievements of the war.” [para Israel]”.
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On the November truce, which allowed The return home of 105 of the 251 Israelis kidnapped on October 7 was described as a bad deal.claiming that this was done under pressure and benefited Hamas more than Israel.
As for the protesters, he accused them of being “irresponsible people who for months weakened the Israeli position and attacked the government, its leader and the army with reckless demonstrations.”
“Humanitarianism in exchange for humanitarianism is morally justified, but what can we do? We live in a certain reality and we need international legitimacy for this war,” he continued, in a speech quoted by Israeli media.
The Israeli blockade – which has continued since May, when Israel took control of the entire southern border at Rafah – has disrupted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and prevented the entry of trucks carrying food and medicine. Several international organisations, such as Doctors Without Borders and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United States, have already called for an end to this blockade.
The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Netahyahu and Gallant for war crimes, issued in May, accurately described the Use of “hunger as a method of warfare”.including the denial of humanitarian aid supplies.”
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Before that, The International Court of Justice has already ruled on the need for humanitarian aid in Gaza.when it upheld South Africa’s accusation of genocide. In January, the United Nations’ top legal body urged Israel to take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance to survive the adverse living conditions faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
These statements by Smotrich, which are defined in the legal framework of the ICC and the ICJ as “incitement to war crimes and genocide”, are not the first. In April, the far-right minister called for “the total annihilation” of the cities of Gaza, stating that “there are no half measures”, as the newspaper Haaretz recalls.
In addition to Gaza, the Finance Minister also made controversial remarks about the West Bank. After another statement by the ICJ, which recognizes an illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territoriesSmotrich called for an official annexation of the West Bank.
Source: Observadora
