Israeli gov’t minister calls for ‘liquidation’ of Hamas

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett has called for the “liquidation” of the Hamas leadership in Gaza and the destruction of the group’s missile-production capacity, Israeli daily Maariv reported on Friday.

According to the newspaper, Bennett said Israel should “do what we did in Judea and Samaria” -- a reference to the occupied West Bank, where Israel has arrested and, in some cases, assassinated Hamas leaders, including lawmakers.

In response to remarks by Gaza-based Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who threatened Israel with missile attacks if the latter struck Gaza, Bennett said: “Our priority now is to degrade Hamas’s ability to attack us.”