Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Calls for Settlement Expansion and Wants to See Large-Scale Military Operations in the West Bank

Itamar Ben-Gvir. (Twitter/@itamarbengvir)

JAKARTA - Israel's right-wing Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir again called on his government to legalize unrecognized Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Friday.

During a visit to the illegal Evyatar outpost, Ben-Gvir said "not just one or two, but tens and hundreds and if necessary even thousands," terrorists must be killed, according to Israeli media outlet The Jerusalem Post.

"I give you full and complete support, but I want more than settlement here, there has to be full settlement here, not only here, but in all the hills around us," he said, as quoted by The National News, June 23.

"The Land of Israel is for the people of Israel, we support you, run to the hills, settle down. We love you," he added.

Ben-Gvir poses for a photo at the outpost, located just outside the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the heart of a new generation of Palestinian militancy that is frequently raided by Israeli forces.

Evyatar was founded in 2013. Since then, it has been razed several times and is a frequent source of tension between Israel's most radical settlers and the country's military.

During the visit, Ben-Gvir also emphasized his desire to see a large-scale Israeli military operation in the West Bank, despite warnings from a number of Israeli security experts, such a move would be ineffective and would exacerbate tensions in the region.

Ben-Gvir himself is under increasing pressure from his right-wing base to enact the tough policies he has espoused throughout his career.

Those policies include the total annexation of the West Bank, the legalization of widespread settlements and the use of the death penalty against those convicted of terrorism.