Palestinians look for survivors following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)
With every passing day, it is becoming clearer that Israel’s assault on Gaza has as its aim the ethnic cleansing of the region, in which Palestinians who survive bombing, starvation and dehydration will be permanently expelled from their land.
In an interview on Saturday, Israeli security cabinet member and Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, declared, “We are now rolling out the Gaza Nakba.” The Nakba, meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the ethnic cleansing of about 700,000 Palestinian Arabs resulting from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the establishment of Israel.
Dichter, a former director of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, declared, “Gaza Nakba 2023. That’s how it’ll end.” When asked whether residents of Gaza would be allowed to return, Dichter said, “I don’t know how it’ll end up happening.”
At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear Friday that Israel will retain total control over the Gaza Strip even after the conclusion of the “war.” He declared categorically, “IDF forces will remain in control of the Strip, we will not give it to international forces.”
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has promoted mass demonstrations by millions of people all over the world, with demonstrations over the weekend in dozens of major cities demanding a ceasefire.
Against this backdrop, US officials continued to give Israel carte blanche to carry out the systematic massacre and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan refused to answer whether Israel was committing war crimes, instead declaring the US’s backing for anything the Netanyahu regime does.