Israeli lawyer threatens to kill all Palestinians in occupied West Bank

An Israeli lawyer has called for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to be killed if they refuse to live under Israeli rule or leave the area, according to a BBC report published Saturday.

Yehuda Shimon spoke to the British broadcaster at the Havat Gilad settlement outpost in the northern occupied West Bank.

Shimon, a lawyer with an organization that represents Israelis arrested in connection with violence against Palestinians, said attacks on Palestinian villages were justified as revenge.

He said a security guard from the outpost was killed during a confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis in the village of Tal and called for revenge.

“I think now, after they killed one Israeli, we need to kill all the people in Tal and Sarra, even Jit and Farata,” he said, referring to the Palestinian villages.

Shimon also said the life of one Jewish person was worth “10 million (Palestinians).”

“I know, but this is the truth, because God chose us (and) because of this you are jealous,” Shimon replied when a BBC reporter described his statement as “racism.”

Shimon rejected the international legal position that the West Bank is occupied territory, claiming that the Bible gave Jews the right to the land.

He also criticized the Israeli government and army.

“The Israeli government and the Israeli army, they like the UN -- if Palestinians come and Jewish people come, (they) don’t kill the Palestinians, (they) just separate the people,” he said. “Afterwards, because they don’t kill Palestinians, the Palestinians kill us.”

Shimon argued that Palestinians should be removed from what he described as all Israeli territory, including Gaza.

“If we don’t wake up and drop them all from this area, from all areas of Israel, even Gaza too, they will come back, and come back (again),” he said.

Shimon said Palestinians had two options if they wanted to remain alive -- either “live quietly” under Israeli rule or voluntarily migrate to other Arab or Muslim lands.

“If you don’t want to make peace with us, and you don’t want to get out, I don’t have a choice: I must kill you, and I (will) kill you all,” he said.