rt.com 6 Jan, 2024 16:46
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Scottish nationalists accuse Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’
The UK should condemn the depopulation of Gaza “in the strongest possible manner,” Humza Yousaf has said
A Palestinian man carries the body of his relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside a morgue in Rafah, Gaza, December 29, 2023 © AP / Fatima Shbair
Israel’s proposed removal and resettlement of Gaza’s Palestinian population is
“the textbook definition of ethnic cleansing,” Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has said. Yousaf is the first UK party leader to condemn the controversial depopulation plan.
Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Yousaf condemned recent comments by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said last week that West Jerusalem should
“encourage emigration” from Gaza in order to reduce its Arab population from over two million to between 100,000 and 200,000. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir made a similar call, stating that Israel should push for the
“voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the blockaded Gaza enclave.
“We are seeing not only a humanitarian crisis, but we're now seeing senior members of the [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu government making statements that are, frankly, the textbook definition of ethnic cleansing,”Yousaf told the British broadcaster.
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“And that should be condemned in the strongest possible manner,” he added.