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Sunday, August 3, 2025
On Temple Mount, Ben Gvir calls for Gaza takeover, ‘voluntary emigration’ of Palestinians
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls for Israel to conquer the Gaza Strip and “encourage voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from the territory, in a video statement from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
“From [the Temple Mount] — the place where we’ve proven sovereignty is possible — we must send a message: conquer all of Gaza, declare sovereignty over the entire Strip, eliminate every Hamas member, and encourage voluntary emigration. This is the only way that we will return the hostages and win the war,” he says in the video posted to his personal Twitter account.
The far-right minister adds that “Hamas’ horrific videos” are meant to pressure Israel, referring to harrowing videos of hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, both appearing emaciated, released by Hamas in recent days.
Earlier in the visit, Ben Gvir was seen joining a prayer minyan and leading the “Amida” prayer, marking the first time a government minister has openly prayed at the site, where Jews are forbidden from praying under the longtime status quo agreement between Israel and Jordan.
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