Gaza Herald – As Israel intensifies its genocide on Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef has made inflammatory remarks calling for the destruction of what remains of Gaza and its occupation, while denying the existence of the Palestinian people.
According to Israeli media reports and a widely circulated video, Yosef made the remarks on August 20 during a visit to the “Gush Katif Museum” in the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem. Yosef also serves as head of Israel’s Supreme Rabbinical Court.
Yosef called for the destruction of the Gaza Strip, claiming that the synagogues left behind after Israel withdrew its settlers from the Gush Katif settlements in Gaza in 2005 had been “desecrated.” He then called for Gaza to be completely destroyed and for Israel to return to it.
He went further, saying that “redemption” means the return of “the entire Land of Israel” to Jews. He claimed that Gaza, Nablus, Jenin, and other Palestinian areas all belong to Israel.
These claims contradict the established position of international law, which considers the occupied West Bank, including the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip to be occupied Palestinian territory and recognizes the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
Yosef also denied the existence of the Palestinian people and their rights, claiming that Palestinians “are not a people,” that they “have never been a people,” and that they have no rights.
Yosef’s statements contradict documented historical facts that predate the establishment of Israel by decades. Academic research has shown that a collective Palestinian identity developed during the late Ottoman period, particularly between 1908 and 1914.
In January 1919, the first Palestinian Arab Congress was held in Jerusalem, bringing together representatives of Muslim and Christian associations from different parts of Palestine to discuss the country’s future.
The first British census of Palestine, conducted in 1922, recorded a population of 757,182 people, approximately 78% Muslim, 11% Jewish, and 9.6% Christian.
In 1925, the Palestinian Citizenship Order came into effect, formally regulating Palestinian citizenship for the inhabitants of the country, more than two decades before Israel was established in 1948.
Yosef has a record of hostile remarks toward Palestinians. In September 2025, he claimed that Palestinians “only engage in looting and killing” and described them as “not a people, but a mob,” according to Israeli media.
Yosef is not the first Israeli official to deny the existence of the Palestinian people. In March 2023, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed during a speech in France that “there is no such thing as the Palestinian people” and denied the existence of Palestinian history or culture.
Yosef’s remarks come amid the consequences of Israel’s genocide on Gaza since October 2023. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 73,438 Palestinians had been killed and 174,447 wounded by Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Israeli military forces and settlers have intensified attacks across the occupied West Bank since Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza in 2023. Palestinian figures say at least 1,182 Palestinians have been killed, more than 13,000 wounded, and around 24,000 detained, while approximately 33,000 have been forcibly displaced.
