Ben-Gvir says Israel should occupy Gaza permanently
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took to X moments ago to call for the permanent occupation of the Gaza Strip.
He spoke out against a US-backed mediation effort and said Hamas “must be crushed” until it “completely surrenders”. The transfer of all humanitarian aid and fuel should be stopped until all captives held by Hamas are released and Israeli authorities must “encourage immigration and occupy the territories of the Gaza Strip in order to keep them in our hands permanently”, he wrote.
Earlier, Ben-Gvir told Israel’s Channel 14 that Israel taking part in ceasefire negotiations on Thursday would be “a serious mistake”. He said he told Netanyahu that the Israeli military is “doing a great job in Gaza” and “so why pull them out?”
He added: “Why should we go now and have a dialogue? Hamas is being crushed by this war and we can win it. I have clearly said that I hope and pray that Netanyahu will not conclude a loose deal. We are victorious and advanced.”
Addictions on the rise in wartime Israel
Health professionals say a rise in addictions is common in wartime Israel, noting a surge in drug and alcohol abuse as well as other addictive behaviours.
Yoni, who asked to use a pseudonym to protect his privacy, told AFP he started taking drugs recreationally before, but “after the war it seemed to really get worse”.
“It’s just a way to escape from reality, this whole thing,” said the resident of Beersheba in southern Israel, who lost a friend in the October 7 Hamas-led attack.
Psychiatrist Shaul Lev-Ran, founder of the Israel Center on Addiction, said that “as a natural reaction to emotional stress and as a search for relief, we’ve seen a spectacular rise in the consumption of various addictive sedative substances”.
Lev-Ran told AFP their studies have identified a rise in the use of “prescription drugs, illegal drugs, alcohol, or addictive behaviour like gambling”.
