Israeli Occupation's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has openly called for genocide and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in Nablus and Jenin, reflecting the systematic atrocities already being committed by the occupation in Jabalia, northern Gaza. His inflammatory remarks lay bare the occupation’s disregard for Palestinian lives, international law, and human rights.
Smotrich’s comments followed the death of three settlers and injuries to seven others in a shooting near Kedumim, an illegal settlement in the northern West Bank. He demanded that Palestinian towns like Burqin, Nablus, and Jenin “be treated like Jabalia,” referring to the occupation’s campaign of total destruction in Gaza, adding that such measures are necessary to prevent Kfar Saba from becoming “like Kfar Gaza.”
Since October, the occupation’s forces have intensified their genocidal war in Gaza, targeting areas like Jabalia with relentless bombardments, a crippling siege, and the deliberate denial of food, water, and medical aid to civilians. These actions are designed to forcibly displace Palestinians, constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.
This genocidal rhetoric is part of a wider pattern of incitement by officials of the occupation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to find and punish “the killers and their accomplices,” while Defence Minister Yisrael Katz issued threats to Palestinians in the West Bank, warning, “Those who follow Hamas’s path will pay a heavy price.”
In response to the incident near Kedumim, the occupation’s military imposed a suffocating lockdown on Qalqilya and nearby towns, deploying reinforcements and conducting sweeping raids. These actions coincide with the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, which has already claimed over 155,000 Palestinian lives, including tens of thousands of women and children. Over 11,000 remain missing, while famine and the destruction of infrastructure have killed scores more, making this one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history.
In the West Bank, the occupation has escalated its military operations and enabled settler violence, resulting in the deaths of at least 838 Palestinians and injuries to over 6,700 this year alone, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The occupation’s policies, fuelled by hate-filled statements like those of Smotrich, have emboldened settlers to attack Palestinians under the protection of the military.
The occupation continues its genocidal actions despite arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court in November 2024 against Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It flagrantly ignores international law while entrenching its illegal occupation of Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese territories, refusing to recognise the right of Palestinians to an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
This systematic annihilation of Palestinians by the occupation highlights the devastating consequences of unchecked impunity. The international community’s failure to act decisively against the occupation’s war crimes perpetuates the suffering of millions of Palestinians, who remain steadfast in the face of genocidal violence and relentless oppression.
