Itamar Ben Gvir launches an unusual attack: "The Prime Minister bears responsibility"
Itamar Ben Gvir attacked Netanyahu's policy in Gaza on 103FM, claiming that the Prime Minister is making a mistake by agreeing to the 15-point document and allowing foreign forces into the Strip, and clarified why he will not leave the government two months before the elections.
The Peace Council has entered Gaza and, according to reports from the field, a gradual Israeli withdrawal has begun in accordance with the 15-point document. Will Israel give up control of Gaza before Hamas is disarmed? Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling the Israeli public one thing while something else is happening on the ground?
Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, chairman of Otzma Yehudit, spoke with Yinon Magal and Amihai Attali on 103FM radio, discussed the confrontations with the Prime Minister in the cabinet, and argued that Israel must act differently against Hamas in Gaza. He also discussed how terrorists in prisons reacted when they found out about the "crocodile" prison program.
Minister Ben Gvir addressed the developments in Gaza and revealed that it is possible that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not aware of all the details of the 15-point document: "The claim is that the Prime Minister did not know the entire document, but there is another problem. I don't know what he knew or didn't know. I know one thing - the Prime Minister is wrong here in the direction he is going. My colleagues like Bezalel Smotrich, who initially voted in favor and I voted against - were wrong. My way is the right way. We must insist both in Gaza and in Lebanon."
He further explained: "The way in Gaza is a mistake - one should not have agreed to the 15-point document in the first place. This is a government that has done many good things for two and a half years, a Prime Minister who led us to enter Gaza, we control more than 60% of the territory. As I understand it, there is a restriction on continuing the activity, although IDF soldiers can respond to immediate threats."
When asked why he does not "bang on the table" and leave the government, Ben Gvir replied firmly: "Are you serious? Two months before the elections I will leave the government? Whoever thinks that my way - to carry out targeted killings, to encourage emigration, to continue to crush Hamas - will vote for me. We are two months before the elections and whoever wants to has the greatest possibility for change."
In addition, he emphasized that the Prime Minister is the one leading the policy in the Gaza Strip: "I think the Prime Minister bears responsibility. I think this approach of bringing foreign forces into Gaza is a mistake. I understand that there are international relations, he is not doing it because it is fun, Donald Trump has his opinions. But I keep telling the Prime Minister - we must continue and continue."
Regarding security in the south, Ben Gvir refuted criticism from residents of Carmit: "Why tell a lie? After 40 years of being abandoned, Itamar Ben Gvir came and within two hours forces entered and raided the Bedouin villages. We reduced shooting by 50%, I am doing in the Negev what no police minister has done." He also noted that through joint efforts with the Shin Bet, they have reduced attacks by 75%.
In conclusion, Ben Gvir spoke about the harsh conditions for security prisoners: "The terrorists are afraid of the crocodiles, it's just amazing to see. I took away their marmalades, chocolates, football, basketball, television and radio. There was a paradise for terrorists here, and Yoav Segalovitz wants to bring back those conditions when prisons were hotels."
