A prominent Emirati billionaire has fired back at an Israeli official’s chilling proposal to execute Palestinians in Gaza, insisting that no government or army holds the keys to human life. Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, the outspoken chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, took to social media on Monday to condemn Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, for openly suggesting that 30 or 40 people in Gaza should be killed every night.
Habtoor, known for his philanthropy and blunt commentary, did not mince words. He accused Ben-Gvir of speaking with a shamelessness that reveals a terrifying disregard for humanity. The minister’s words, he argued, treat the people of Gaza as if their lives are worthless, as if they are not deserving of the same breath that fills every other human chest.
“What human conscience can remain silent in the face of it?” Habtoor wrote in a lengthy post on X. “How can an official in a state government grant himself the right to decide who deserves to live?”
For Habtoor, this is not a matter of political debate. Calling for the murder of human beings and stripping them of their dignity is a dangerous moral collapse, one that the world cannot afford to shrug off. He warned that such rhetoric, if left unchallenged, risks becoming normalized in the halls of power, where words can quickly turn into bullets.
The Emirati tycoon did not stop at condemnation. He threw his weight behind a joint stance taken by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia, all of which have rejected policies that trample on Palestinian rights. Habtoor reminded his audience that the people of Gaza—their children, their women, their men—are not abstract figures in a geopolitical game. They are human beings, entitled to the same right to life and dignity as anyone else on this planet.
“We may negotiate over borders, security, and interests,” he added, striking a pragmatic note. “But there is a line no human being should ever cross in relation to another: the sanctity of human life.”
