An Israeli settler has defended attacks on Palestinian villages and called for Palestinians to be killed or expelled from the occupied West Bank.

The BBC interviewed Yehuda Shimon, a resident of the unauthorised Israeli outpost of Havat Gilad, after a wave of settler attacks followed the killing of an Israeli security guard last week.

“I think now, after they killed one Israeli, we need to kill all the people in Tal and Sarra, even Jit and Farata,” Shimon said, referring to nearby Palestinian villages.

When asked whether one Jewish life was worth hundreds or thousands of Palestinian lives, he replied: “Millions. One Jewish life, it’s 10 million.”

Asked if the remark was racist, he answered: “Yes, I know. But this is the truth, because God chose us.”

According to the British broadcaster, Shimon works as a lawyer for an organisation representing Israelis accused of genocidal assault against Palestinians.

The interview came after clashes in the village of Tal last Friday, where an Israeli security guard, four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed. The cause of the confrontation remains disputed.

Shimon also criticised the Israeli government and military, saying they failed to use enough force against Palestinians.

“The Israeli government and the Israel Army... don’t kill the Palestinians,” he said. “Afterwards, because they don’t kill Palestinians, the Palestinians kill us.”

UN figures cited by the BBC present a different picture.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says 64 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of this year through Jul 20, including 18 during settler attacks.

At least 12 were killed by settlers, three by Israeli forces, while responsibility for three others remains unclear. One Israeli was killed over the same period.

OCHA also says injuries caused by settlers have risen to more than three a day this year.

The BBC said Shimon rejected international law, arguing that the Bible gave Jews the right to the land.

Asked what should happen to Palestinians living in the West Bank, he said they should accept Israeli rule, leave for another country or be killed if they continued to resist.

“If you don’t want to make peace with us, and you don’t want to get out, I don’t have a choice: I must kill you, and I kill you all,” he said.

As per the BBC, the comments closely resemble proposals put forward by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich before joining government. He has since advocated what he calls the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza.

It said Palestinians living near Havat Gilad described constant fear of settler attacks, saying they felt abandoned as violence escalated.

The broadcaster noted that more than half a million Israelis live in settlements and outposts across the occupied West Bank.

International law regards the settlements as illegal, a position Israel disputes.