Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.



Civil Defense: Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 8 in Gaza

A Palestinian man stands at the site of an Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City, June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian man stands at the site of an Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City, June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Civil Defense: Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 8 in Gaza

A Palestinian man stands at the site of an Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City, June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian man stands at the site of an Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City, June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Israeli attacks on Gaza killed at least eight people on Thursday, a spokesman for the civil defense agency in the Palestinian territory told AFP.

"At least eight martyrs as a result of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City at dawn," with seven killed in strikes on residential buildings and one in the Al-Shati refugee camp to the west of Gaza City, said spokesman Mahmoud Bassal.

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also reported 15 people wounded in the strikes, he added.

Despite a truce technically in effect since October, daily violence has rocked the Gaza Strip, over half of which is under Israeli military control in defiance of the ceasefire's terms.

Israel has killed at least 936 people since the ceasefire began, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.

Both Hamas and Israel accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

The first phase of the truce involved the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.

A transition to the second phase of the ceasefire, which was supposed to involve Hamas's disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, has been stalled for months.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to take control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip.

The latest head of Hamas's armed wing in Gaza, Mohammed Odeh, was killed in an Israeli strike last week, a month after his predecessor was also killed.


Lebanon State Media Reports Israeli Strikes after Conditional Truce Announcement

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the village of Kfar Tibnit on June 3, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the village of Kfar Tibnit on June 3, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Lebanon State Media Reports Israeli Strikes after Conditional Truce Announcement

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the village of Kfar Tibnit on June 3, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the village of Kfar Tibnit on June 3, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Lebanese official media reported Israeli strikes on the country's south on Thursday morning, hours after an announcement that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to implement a conditional ceasefire following talks in Washington.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli drone strikes along roads at several south Lebanon locations, saying at least one caused casualties.

Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a ceasefire but said it would require a "complete cessation" of fire by Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to a joint statement after US-led talks in Washington.


Israel Far-right Minister Slams Ceasefire with Lebanon as 'Serious Mistake'

A photograph shows the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes in the Burj al-Chamali area near the southern city of Tyre, on June 2, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
A photograph shows the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes in the Burj al-Chamali area near the southern city of Tyre, on June 2, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
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Israel Far-right Minister Slams Ceasefire with Lebanon as 'Serious Mistake'

A photograph shows the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes in the Burj al-Chamali area near the southern city of Tyre, on June 2, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
A photograph shows the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes in the Burj al-Chamali area near the southern city of Tyre, on June 2, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticized on Thursday a ceasefire deal with Lebanon brokered by Washington, calling it a "serious mistake".

"The ceasefire with Lebanon is a serious mistake and the pipe dreams of advisers are dragging the prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) to wrong decisions," the minister wrote on X.

Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a ceasefire but said it would require a "complete cessation" of fire by Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to a joint statement after US-led talks in Washington, said AFP.