Germany, France, UN condemn far-right Israeli minister's 'inhumane' Gaza remarks

Germany, France and the UN on Wednesday condemned remarks by Israel's far-right national security minister, who declared that Israel should kill "30 or 40" people every night in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz "strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minister (Itamar) Ben Gvir, which violate international law," German government spokesman Sebastian Hille said. "They are unacceptable."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also slammed the remarks, calling them "intolerable and inhumane" in an interview with the La Montagne regional newspaper.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described them as "appalling. They're outrageous. They're dehumanizing, and they're dangerous," his spokesman said.

Israel launched a military campaign on Hamas-ruled Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas. 

Ben Gvir, who is already facing calls from several European countries for bloc-wide sanctions, made the call for mass killings during a podcast with a former Gaza hostage who had been held by Hamas.

"I think targeted eliminations should be carried out in Gaza every night. Take out 30 or 40," he said.

"Not only those who endanger you right now. These are people who shouldn't be alive," Ben Gvir said. "I'm paying them a compliment by calling them humans."

Lars Klingbeil, German vice chancellor and finance minister, said in a TV interview Tuesday that Ben Gvir's comments "must have consequences", adding that sanctions were being discussed at the European level. 

Several European countries have called for EU-wide sanctions against the far-right minister, but the proposal has failed to win the required unanimity.

Calls to blacklist Ben Gvir grew after he published a video in May of himself mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

France in response banned Ben Gvir from entering the country and called for the EU to impose bloc-wide sanctions. 

But EU sanctions have to be signed off by all 27 member states and staunch supporters of Israel refused to go along with the push. 

- 'No further steps' -

Germany also condemned Israeli plans for settlement expansion in the so-called E1 area of the occupied West Bank, saying it jeopardises the prospect for a two-state solution.

"Our message is clear: there must be no further steps toward annexation in the West Bank," said Hille. 

"No formal ones, but also no political, structural, or other measures whose impact is increasingly and obviously leading toward annexation. They run counter to a two-state solution."

France's Barrot did not rule out further sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, who have increasingly been harassing and assaulting Palestinian residents in recent months, often with the aim to take their property.

"We imposed European sanctions against these settlers for the third time on May 28," he said.

"Further sanctions could be imposed and all options are on the table," Barrot added.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and successive Israeli governments have expanded settlements. 

But they have accelerated significantly under the current coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank in settlements that are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians.

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