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A prominent Israeli human rights organization has criticized calls by the country's far-right finance minister, who suggested that Israel should expand its borders deeper into Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian territories.
B'Tselem said in a statement on Friday that Bezalel Smotrich's statement precisely clarifies the vision guiding Israel's actions. Similar to the genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, Israel continues to declare its intentions for widespread destruction and occupation of southern Lebanon.
She said the international community continues to grant Israel immunity that allows it to spread destruction and death throughout the Middle East.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the inauguration of a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Smotrich said Israel's borders will be expanded into Gaza, Libya and Syria with God's help.
" There will be a diplomatic branch in Gaza that will extend our borders, God willing. There will be a final diplomatic branch in Lebanon that will extend our borders to the Litani (river), to defensible borders. And there will be a final diplomatic branch in Syria, with the crown of Mount Hermon and at least a buffer zone," Smotrich said.
Smotrich also spoke about the country having a definitive diplomatic foothold in Judea and Samaria that completely destroys the idea of a Palestinian state, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
Smotrich is a member of Israel's Security Cabinet, which sets policy on security matters and authorizes major military actions. The Israeli government has not officially approved any plans to expand the borders, and such a move would likely trigger a major international backlash against the country.
Israel will hold elections this year, and opinion polls from many Israeli media outlets show that Smotrich's party is at risk of being voted out of parliament.
Meanwhile, Hamas, which has re-tightened control over half of Gaza, said Smotrich's comments undermined the ceasefire agreement signed last October.
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