‘With ‘most extremist’ government in Israel, there's nothing but war ahead’

ISTANBUL

With the "most extremist, religious, nationalist" government in the country's history in power in Israel, there's nothing but war ahead, according to a prominent American academic.

“With the government like that in Israel, there's nothing but war ahead,” Jeffrey Sachs, a professor of economics at New York's Columbia University, told British journalist Piers Morgan on his YouTube program Uncensored.

Calling the Israeli government “the most extremist,” he said: "They have no intention of living side by side with Palestinians under any circumstances."

Sachs said the government's desire for "Greater Israel," meaning control over all lands from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, is openly expressed every day.

“So, there's no end game here politically other than complete domination or ethnic cleansing or slaughter,” he added.

Emphasizing his familiarity with the situation in Israel, he stated: "We've never seen anything like this … Messianic rule all over Palestine.”

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 31,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and almost 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.