Israeli war to end with Jews settling northern Gaza: Knesset member

JERUSALEM

The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip will end with Jews settling north of the Gaza Strip, the head of the Knesset’s National Security Committee said on Sunday.

“Israel must end the war when Jews settle in the entire northern Gaza Strip,” Zvika Fogel told the Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

Fogel called for encouraging the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. “Whoever wants to voluntarily migrate will receive a grant from me,” he added.

Amid international outrage, several Israeli officials have called for encouraging what they call the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, which has been under a deadly Israeli offensive since last October following a Hamas attack, that killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 32,200 Palestinians have since been killed and over 74,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of 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 stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi