Israel Races to Grab Gaza Land, Passes Controversial Laws Before October 27 Vote
Israel is speeding up settlement plans and pushing through deeply disputed laws ahead of its October 27 election, while its defense minister openly celebrates the destruction of Gaza as a "deliberate policy" and ceasefire violations have killed over 1,100 Palestinians.
The Israeli government has announced new plans to establish settlements in both Gaza and the West Bank, according to the human rights group Peace Now, which monitors settlement policy. The group says Israel aims to take over as much land as possible before the October 27 election [200369]. Simultaneously, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed a series of deeply disputed laws during its most turbulent week in recent memory. Many of these laws are unpopular even with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s own voters, but Netanyahu views them as necessary political moves ahead of the vote [199500].
Separately, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said the widespread destruction in Gaza gives him a “good feeling,” calling it the result of a “deliberate policy.” Katz made the comments while announcing a plan to establish three military-linked settlement outposts in northern Gaza. The outposts, he said, are part of a broader strategy to secure the area [195519].
Since the ceasefire began, Israeli forces have killed 1,144 Palestinians and wounded 3,703 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The army has also expanded the area it controls inside the Gaza Strip, despite the truce agreement. The latest deaths include eight Palestinians killed on Friday alone. The expanding occupation zone raises fears of a wider escalation [199244].