Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Germany, France, and the United Nations have condemned remarks by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir advocating the daily killing of Palestinians in Gaza, calling them “unacceptable” and “beyond the bounds of humanity.”
The United Nations High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the occupied West Bank has called Ben-Gvir’s remarks “beyond the bounds of humanity”.
The UN agency said in a statement that Ben-Gvir’s comments “represent a new example of the utter contempt shown by senior officials in the Israeli government for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and the fundamental principles of humanity”.
It continued to affirm that “these dehumanising remarks follow the devastating human toll of 73,400 Palestinians killed and 174,312 injured in Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, alongside 1,123 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also "strongly condemns the inhumane appeals” made by Ben-Gvir, “which violate international law," German government spokesman Sebastian Hille said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also slammed the remarks, calling them "intolerable and inhumane" in an interview with the La Montagne regional newspaper.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described them as "appalling. They're outrageous. They're dehumanizing, and they're dangerous," his spokesman said.
Ben-Gvir made the comments to Rom Braslavski – a former Israeli captive held in Gaza – in a podcast episode that surfaced on Sunday.
“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” he said. “I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat — there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people,” Ben-Gvir added while calling for the targeted killings of Palestinians in Gaza.
The remarks are the latest in a long record of extreme and inflammatory statements from
Ben-Gvir, who sits in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government and controls Israel’s police and prison services. In the past, similar statements by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials were widely condemned. Many have been presented to the U.N.’s world court as evidence of genocidal intent.
Ben-Gvir has no formal authority over the military and cannot order strikes himself, though he sits on Israel’s security cabinet, a group of senior ministers who help shape war and security policy.
Ben-Gvir also promised Braslavski that he would seek to allow him to personally take part if Palestinian detainees were executed under Israel’s recently enacted death penalty law.
“I have a personal request, and I am truly looking you in the eyes, minister. Let me be the one who hangs them,” Braslavski told Ben-Gvir.
"I don’t want a rope; I want a button on a gun. With my own hands, I will execute every terrorist in the state of Israel,” he added.
Ben-Gvir replied: “I will turn the world upside down to make that happen. I promise you that I will do everything I can and turn the world upside down until it happens.”
In the discussion, Ben-Gvir also called for Palestinians to be encouraged to leave Gaza permanently, alongside new Israeli settlement of the territory, telling Braslavski he saw “all of Gaza as ours”, a comment he has repeated on many occasions.
His remarks came as Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip despite the so-called US-backed ceasefire which took effect in October 2025, killing more than 1,250 people and restricting the entry of air while occupying large parts of the enclave.
The French Foreign Minister also condemned Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank against Palestinians, and added that this justified France's recent sanctions against Ben-Gvir.
"What is happening today in the West Bank is utterly disgraceful and should fill us all with revulsion," Barrot wrote on X.
"This is why we have sanctioned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir, whose recent comments are unacceptable and inhuman," added Barrot.
In May, France announced it was banning Ben-Gvir from French territory.
Barrot reiterated that new sanctions could be implemented against Israeli settlers deemed to be involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
In June, Britain, Canada, France and Norway announced coordinated sanctions against Israeli networks involved in financing, enabling and carrying out violence in the West Bank.
