Israeli MK Says He Wants to “Occupy” and “Cleanse” Gaza of Palestinians
Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- A Knesset member from Israel’s ruling Likud party has said he wants to “cleanse” the Gaza Strip of Palestinians before they launch another deadly attack. Amit Halevi told Radio 103FM on Sunday that “occupation is the nature of war”.
“We want to occupy the territory to cleanse it of the enemy – otherwise, it will kill your children and kidnap your grandchildren again,” he said.
“For many months we have only been dealing with tactics and not with defeating Hamas.”
Speaking about the negotiations for a prisoner-ceasefire deal, Halevi said that there was no possibility of ending Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
“The senior command has begun to understand that it is impossible to defeat terrorism without controlling the territory and the population,” he said.
When asked about whether Palestinians left in the Gaza Strip would be given Israeli citizenship following a takeover, Halevi said that their status would need to be determined.
“We want to distinguish between the status of the territory and control over it, and the status of the residents, which is definitely something that deserves to be defined,” he explained.
“When you give control over education, culture, and religion, you get the results you get.”
Israeli airstrikes have killed over 1000 Palestinians and injured hundreds more after announcing the resumption of its genocide war in Gaza on March 18. The Israeli attacks marked the collapse of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal that had begun on January 19, 2025.
The first phase ended on March 1, 2025, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to proceed with the second phase, saying Israel aims to apply maximum pressure on Hamas to secure the release of Israeli captives.
Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court, sought to free more Israeli captives without fulfilling Israel’s commitments, including ending the war and withdrawing from Gaza. Hamas insisted on implementing the full agreement.
