Head of Israeli town suggests flattening Gaza Strip like Auschwitz concentration camp

David Azoulai, council head for the town of Metula in Israel, wants to send all Gazans to refugee camps in Lebanon to empty and flatten the whole Gaza Strip so it becomes an empty museum like Auschwitz – a complex of concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust.

In an interview with Ben Caspit and Yinon Magal of the Israeli talk radio station 103FM, the mayor of Israel’s northernmost Jewish village suggested that instead of urging people to go south, “we should direct them to the beaches. The [Israeli] Navy can transport them to the shores of Lebanon, where there are already sufficient refugee camps. Then, a security strip should be established from the sea to the Gaza border fence, completely empty, as a reminder of what was once there.”

“Let it become a museum, showcasing the capabilities of the State of Israel and dissuading anyone from living in the Gaza Strip. This is what must be done to give them a visual representation. We should leave Gaza desolate and destroyed to serve as a museum, demonstrating the madness of the people who lived there.”

The local leader reasoned that what happened on the initial Hamas attack on Oct. 7 was already a second Holocaust. The Jerusalem Post reported that later, Azoulai clarified his stance about the situation up North, saying that Hezbollah is observing the situation in the South. That is why the issue should be addressed properly, otherwise, they will see it as a weakness.

“No matter how strong terrorism may be, we cannot live in fear or uproot people from their homes. We must act decisively,” he explained. “The displaced residents of the North deserve to know when and how they will return home. We don’t want war or casualties. However, I don’t believe Hezbollah will surrender peacefully.”

Similarly, Israeli journalist Shimon Riklin posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying he does not care if he is criticized but he is for the war crimes. He called for ethnic cleansing and genocide on Israeli TV recently: “I am unable to sleep if I do not see houses being destroyed in Gaza. I want there to be nothing for them to return to,” Riklin said. “The Torah says they used to spread the earth with salt, and they must complain.”

Israeli journalist Shimon Riklin has stirred controversy and condemnation after supporting war crimes, stating his inability to sleep unless he sees homes in Gaza destroyed. Riklin referenced the Torah, saying that ancient practices involved spreading salt on the earth. pic.twitter.com/Df8603L4By

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) December 18, 2023

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 19,667 people have been killed in Gaza and 52,586 wounded since the war began. Nearly two million people have been displaced from their homes with little access to food, clean water or sanitation. (Related: WAR CRIME? Nearly 50% of bombs dropped by Israel on Gaza were unguided, “area effect” weapons.)

Israel now uses “Gospel” AI system to attack targets

The Israeli military claimed that it is already using artificial intelligence (AI) to select targets in real-time. They have struck more than 22,000 targets inside Gaza and since the temporary truce broke down on Dec. 1, Israel’s Air Force has hit more than 3,500 sites. The team reportedly utilized an AI system named “the Gospel,” which has helped it to rapidly identify enemy combatants and equipment. However, critics warn the system is unproven and just provides a technological justification for the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians.

“It appears to be an attack aimed at maximum devastation of the Gaza Strip,” says Lucy Suchman, an anthropologist and professor emeritus at Lancaster University in England. Other experts also question whether any AI can take on a job as consequential as targeting humans on the battlefield. “AI algorithms are notoriously flawed with high error rates observed across applications that require precision, accuracy and safety,” warns Heidy Khlaaf, Engineering Director of AI Assurance at Trail of Bits, a technology security firm.

According to posts on the Israeli military’s website, the “Gospel” was developed by Israel’s signals intelligence branch, known as Unit 8200. The system is relatively new; one of the earliest mentions was a top innovation award that it won in 2020.

According to Hebrew University of Jerusalem lecturer Tal Mimran, “Gospel” is actually one of several AI programs being used by Israeli intelligence. Other AI systems aggregate vast quantities of intelligence data and classify it, with “Gospel” being the final AI system that makes a targeting recommendation to a human analyst. Those targets could be anything from individual fighters, equipment like rocket launchers or facilities such as Hamas command posts

Genocide.news has more stories related to Israel’s continued attacks on Palestinian civilians and even its own people.

Sources for this article include:

InformationLiberation.com

JPost.com

TheGuardian.com

NPR.org

IDF.il