Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called for Israeli forces to 'kill 30 or 40' people in Gaza every night, going beyond 'those who pose a danger at that particular moment.' The remarks were made in a podcast with Rom Braslavski, a former Israeli captive held in Gaza.

Ben-Gvir, who sits in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government and controls police and prison services, said there are people in Gaza 'who are not worthy of life' and advocated for targeted killings of Palestinians. He criticized Netanyahu's decision to scale back strikes under the current 'ceasefire' and called for renewed assassinations.

In the conversation, Braslavski asked Ben-Gvir to allow him to personally execute Palestinian prisoners, saying he wanted 'a button on a gun' rather than a rope. Ben-Gvir promised to 'turn the world upside down' to make it happen. He also reiterated his view that 'all of Gaza is ours' and supported encouraging Palestinians to leave permanently.

International lawyers have warned that forced or engineered emigration could amount to ethnic cleansing. Gaza's health ministry reports over 1,250 deaths since the ceasefire took hold in October.

Ben-Gvir has a long history of extreme statements, from his teenage involvement with the outlawed Kahanist movement to championing the death penalty for Palestinians and worsening prison conditions. He has been sanctioned by the UK and some EU states, but without serious consequence.

Source: www.aljazeera.com