Hamas has condemned far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s recent comments on Gaza as an “explicit threat to continue the crimes of genocide and forced displacement”, Al Jazeera reports.

“This statement coincides with parallel moves aimed at imposing the occupation’s ‘sovereignty’ over the West Bank. We affirm that this dangerous occupation escalation will be met with all forms of legitimate resistance in defence of our land and national rights,” Hamas said.

As we reported earlier, Smotrich told a conference that Israel is “closer than ever” to rebuilding the illegal settlement of Gush Katif in Gaza, which he called “an integral part of the land of Israel”.

Hamas’s statement also comes after Israeli publication Haaretz reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had presented a proposal to Israel’s security cabinet to annexe parts of the Gaza Strip in an effort to prevent Smotrich’s resignation.