Israel should 'wipe out' Palestinian village of Huwara, says far-right minister Smotrich
After inflammatory comments by far-right legislator Zvika Fogel last Monday, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he'd like to see the Palestinian village of Huwara "wiped out."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the religious far-right Religious Zionism party, said on Wednesday that Israel should “wipe out” the West Bank Palestinian town of Huwara.
The town, inhabited by nearly 7,000 Palestinians, was attacked on Sunday by Israeli settlers, who burnt 35 homes to the ground. The attack came after two Israeli brothers were killed by a Palestinian assailant while driving through Huwara over the weekend.
Smotrich, who is the finance minister and also a minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of civilian affairs in the West Bank, advocated publicly that the town be wiped out. Speaking at an economic conference, Smotrich was asked why he “liked” a tweet by Samaria Regional Council deputy mayor Davidi Ben Zion that called to "wipe out" Huwara. The prominent far-right politician said it was because he agreed with it.
“Because I think the village of Huwara needs to be wiped out. I think the State of Israel should do it,” Smotrich replied.
