Itamar Ben Gvir Faces Heated Confrontation During Bir Hadaj Village Visit
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir faced sharp criticism and a vocal confrontation during a pre-election campaign visit to the Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj on Wednesday.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj on Wednesday morning as part of his pre-election campaign activities. During the visit, the minister engaged in a heated verbal confrontation with Musa Abu Marimi, a member of the village committee, who sharply criticized the minister's security policies and the mass issuance of firearm licenses.
In a video circulating from the event, Abu Marimi is heard confronting Ben Gvir: "If there was real security, there would be no need to distribute hundreds of thousands of gun licenses. Security is at zero, you are staging a show, and you are only handing out weapons to citizens because they are in mortal danger." Ben Gvir responded by addressing, among other issues, recent home demolitions in the village, telling him, "If you are a law-abiding citizen, I have no problem." Abu Marimi retorted, calling him a failing minister and a "TikTok minister."
Village Committee Chairman Salim Danfiri also slammed the visit, stating that demolishing hundreds of homes would not break the community's resolve. Danfiri accused the minister of trying to ruin long-standing relations between Jews and Bedouin in the Negev, asserting that his ideology promotes conflict and bloodshed.
"We are waiting for a different government that will repair the damage caused by Ben Gvir," Danfiri concluded. "We will not let him sow discord, and with God's help at the ballot box, we will toss him into the dustbin of history."
