Israeli far-right minister criticizes Biden
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has criticized U.S. President Joe Biden for his criticism of Jewish settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
Biden said in an interview with CNN on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government has some of the most extreme members he has seen in Israel.
“It’s not all Israel’s problem [in the West Bank], but they are part of the problem … particularly those individuals in the cabinet who say …[Palestinians] have no right to be here,” Biden said.
Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are staunch supporters of settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Ben-Gvir has repeatedly advocated the expansion of Jewish settlements and the establishment of settlement outposts on the hills of the West Bank.
“In what way am I an extremist? By handing out weapons to the citizens of Israel so that they can defend themselves? In that I give full backing to our soldiers and officers?” Ben-Gvir said.
“I invite Biden to tour Jerusalem and Hebron to see that our extremism is extreme, immense love for the State of Israel,” he added.
Last month, the Israeli government passed a resolution giving Smotrich virtually all control over planning permits for settlement construction in the West Bank.
It is estimated that some 700,000 settlers live in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the occupied West Bank.
Under international law, all Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal.
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