Berlin, 3 January 2024 (dpa/MIA) — Berlin and Paris have sharply criticized statements made by Israel's government on the possible expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the resettlement of the territory.

 

"We reject the statements made by the two ministers in the strongest possible terms. They are neither sensible nor helpful," a German Foreign Office spokesman said in Berlin on Wednesday in response to the statements made by far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in recent days.

 

"We call on Israel to refrain from such provocative statements, which are irresponsible and fuel tensions," the French Foreign Ministry said earlier on Wednesday in Paris.

 

Forced resettlement of population groups is a serious violation of international law, it said.

 

"It is not up to the Israeli government to decide where Palestinians should live on their land," the ministry in Paris explained. "The future of Gaza and its residents will lie in a united Palestinian state living in peace and security alongside Israel."

 

National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and the equally far-right Finance Minister Smotrich had spoken out in favour of an Israeli resettlement of the Gaza Strip after the war against Hamas.

 

Ben-Gvir said on Monday that the war was an opportunity to promote the "resettlement of Gaza Strip residents." Smotrich told Israel's Army Radio on Sunday that if Israel proceeds correctly, there will be an exodus of Palestinians "and we will live in the Gaza Strip."

 

French President Emmanuel Macron had already labelled the statements on the forced resettlement of Gaza residents as unacceptable in a telephone conversation with Benny Gantz, minister in Israel's war Cabinet, the Élysée Palace said on Tuesday evening.

 

Resettling Palestinians out of Gaza would be in direct contrast to the two-state solution which has been discussed for years, Macron said.

 

The German ministry spokesman went on to say that there should be no expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, and no territorial reduction of the Gaza Strip.

 

A two-state solution remains the only sustainable model for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, the spokesman in Berlin said. "We are sticking to this and are also working towards it in the longer term, so to speak."

 

The response from Berlin and Paris followed similar statements from the United States.

 

"This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington on Tuesday.

 

"We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the government of Israel, including by the prime minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately," Miller said.

 

"Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel," he said.

 

"That is the future we seek, in the interests of Israelis and Palestinians, the surrounding region, and the world."

 

Ben-Gvir immediately rejected any criticism from the US on the matter.

 

"I hold the United States of America in high esteem, but with all due respect, Israel is not another star on the American flag," he wrote on the social media platform X.

 

"The United States is our best friend, but first of all we will do what is best for the State of Israel," he posted.

 

"The exodus of hundreds of thousands from Gaza will allow the residents of Gaza's periphery to return home."

 

Smotrich is considered an advocate of the vision of "Greater Israel" and is also in favour of annexing the West Bank. The Palestinians, on the other hand, claim the West Bank, Gaza and the Arab-dominated eastern part of Jerusalem as the territory of a future state of their own. Israel took control of the territories in 1967.

 

The US wants a reformed Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, to take control of the Gaza Strip after the war.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, opposes this. He wants the army to retain security control even after the war and is calling for Gaza to be demilitarized.