OCCUPIED AL-QUDS (Dispatches) -- Former Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies on the Gaza Strip, saying Israel has become “the laughingstock of the Middle East.”
In an interview with local radio station Kol BaRama, the far-right politician denounced the regime’s handling of the war in Gaza.
“We have become the laughingstock of the Middle East, and I’m not sure we even realize it yet,” Ben-Gvir said.
Ben-Gvir said Israel should never have allowed fuel and humanitarian aid into Gaza. The former minister went on to call for an immediate implementation of what he called a “voluntary migration program” for Palestinians in Gaza.
“We need to launch an initiative to encourage voluntary migration today. President Trump says there is time, but for Israel’s interests, we have no time to waste,” he said.
In January, Ben Gvir resigned from the cabinet in opposition to a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal. He has since advocated for what he calls “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza.
On Feb. 4, U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would “take over” Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere under a plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
His proposal was met with widespread condemnation from the Palestinians, Arab and Islamic countries, and many other nations across the world, including Canada, France, Germany, and the UK.
Meanwhile, an Israeli researcher has said that the Zionist regime’s claim of victory over Hamas is “just a dangerous illusion”, Maariv reported.
In an article published in the paper, Yoash Ben-Eliezer, senior researcher at the Misgav Institute for National Security, said: “The Israeli reality, full of complexities and dynamics, has proven to us time over time that expelling the

 Palestinians from Lebanon [1982] which was considered an achievement at the time, has led to the rise of Hezbollah and the Shia axis.”
“[Israel’s unilateral] withdrawal from Gaza seemed like a brave and correct step, but [Gaza] has become a fertile ground for arming Hamas and the October 7 epic.” 
The researcher said the return of Donald Trump to the presidency in the U.S. is a good opportunity for Israel, but who can guarantee that it will not lead to greater problems in the long run?”