He is one of the most experienced spokesmen for the Israeli authorities. Mark Regev is the special adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In recent months, he has defended Israel’s warfare in Gaza on channels such as CNN, BBC and Sky News. – We have set ourselves a goal we have never set before, namely that Hamas’ control over Gaza must end, says the Netanyahu adviser. – No one in the world can live with the fear that terrorists can cross the border and massacre their children, says Regev in a longer interview with news. The war, which has raged since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, has displaced 1.7 million people in the Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations. Palestinians fear that Israel plans to expel them forever. Regev dismisses the concern. Special adviser Mark Regev says to news that Israel has done everything it can to protect civilian lives in the fight against Hamas. Photo: Håvard Greger Hagen / news Wanted to “transfer” Palestinians to Egypt – This is Hamas propaganda. People must of course be allowed to return home after the war is over. We can guarantee that, says the Netanyahu spokesman. Why has your intelligence ministry made a proposal on how to transfer 2.2 million Palestinians from Gaza to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt? – We have a large bureaucracy, and the job of the bureaucrats is to present ideas. Why are you even discussing such ideas? – This was only a proposal. It is not part of the government’s strategy. If that is true, why has your boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tried to get EU countries to persuade Egypt to accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza, according to the Financial Times? – We encourage all countries to accept Palestinian refugees because we believe it is the only humane thing to do. We want civilians to leave the war zone and receive humanitarian aid. Israel has offered to write off part of Egypt’s foreign debt in exchange for accepting Palestinians from Gaza, according to the Israeli website Ynet. Is that right? – All I can say is that we have spoken to several countries about accepting Palestinian refugees in order to get them out of the war zone. Regev clarifies time and again that Israel is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But in the occupied West Bank, it is not Hamas that rules. Regev is a special adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Håvard Greger Hagen / news We ask why Israeli forces have killed at least 200 Palestinians, arrested hundreds, and expanded the occupation and oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank. – There are Hamas terrorists all over the West Bank. They will carry out new attacks on Israel and slaughter Israelis. We have to fight back against them. This is self-defense. Admits discrimination Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International believe that Israel practices apartheid in the occupied West Bank. They have documented widespread oppression of Palestinians. Tamir Pardo, former top commander of Israel’s powerful intelligence service Mossad, also recently said that Israel practices apartheid. The ex-spy chief justifies this by the fact that Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank are not equal before the law. – The factuality of what he says is correct, admits Regev. – We have one law that applies to our citizens, while Palestinians are subject to military law. In other words, the Netanyahu advisor admits the differential treatment and discrimination against Palestinians. He says Israel has no other choice. – If we create a joint piece of legislation, it will be called annexation. The international community and most Israelis are against it. Therefore, we have no alternative but to have two sets of laws. Former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo has said that Israel practices apartheid. Regev is right in that. Photo: Ariel Schalit / AP Disputing death toll In the last two months, at least 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war with Israel, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Israel denies the death toll. – This is Hamas propaganda that you journalists swallow raw, says Regev. – How do you know that Hamas fighters are not among those killed, asks the adviser to the prime minister. How many Hamas fighters has Israel killed in the Gaza Strip? – Thousands. Where is the proof of that? – That is what our estimates show. The UN, the World Health Organization and human rights organizations, on the other hand, believe that the Hamas figures are credible, and have been so in previous wars. Regev says Israel goes to great lengths to protect civilian lives in the fight against Hamas. – Before we started the bombing, we did everything we could to encourage civilians to evacuate out of the conflict zone. We dropped leaflets from the air. Most took the call and went south on the Gaza Strip, says Regev. But there are no safe places in the Gaza Strip. When people go south, as you ask them to do, Israel bombs there too. Where should people go? – We have now, together with the USA and the UN, created dedicated zones in southern Gaza that are supposed to be safe. When did you announce these safe zones? – One week ago, when we made plans to enter southern Gaza. So you bomb for six weeks and then you create safe zones? – In a difficult war situation, we are concerned with minimizing the risk. By asking people to go south, we minimize the risk to their lives. People are much safer in southern Gaza. Controlling the press While the war has raged, no independent journalists have been allowed into the Gaza Strip, neither by Egypt nor Israel. This makes it very demanding for international media to cover the war and document the war’s consequences. We ask the Netanyahu adviser why Israel does not allow the press into the Gaza Strip. – Because it is a war zone. It is too dangerous, says Regev. But how will the world know that what Israel says about the war is actually true? – You can join the press trips that our defense organizes. Then it is their defense that decides where we can move, who we can talk to and what we can film. Their soldiers even control our footage. – CNN and the BBC and many others have taken part in these trips. These are professional tours. Israel is known for having a free press. But it would be irresponsible of us to let civilians into a war zone.
ttn-69
Netanyahu advisor admits discrimination against Palestinians – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
