The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gabir, spoke out on Friday about the criticism aimed at the security situation. He reiterated that his firm view is that deterrence is not achieved through containment and that he is often frustrated by certain decisions made by the government. However, he doesn’t see overthrowing the government as an option and claims that it is better than the previous one. He attacked the previous government’s handling of terrorism and accused the current opposition of sending harmful messages to the world. He also highlighted the actions he has taken in his office to improve the security situation. In response, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid heavily criticized him, while Marev Michaeli argued for dialogue with the Palestinians to achieve stability.
Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gabir, broke his silence today (Friday) and addressed the criticism surrounding the security tensions. At the beginning of his remarks, Ben Gvir wrote: “My positions have not changed. My firm view is that deterrence is not achieved through containment. Terrorism does not recognize the concept of ‘restraint is power.’ Also the way that large sections of the public have chosen and expect the government to follow.”
“There is no doubt – unfortunately, I do not determine the Israeli government’s security policy alone. There is also no doubt that I have a certain influence – sometimes more, sometimes too little, and certainly not enough, and it is clear that I often find myself frustrated by certain decisions. I consider a thousand considerations “If it is right to withdraw from the government and indeed not to dismantle it, but to support it from the outside,” he said.
He also stated that overthrowing the government is not an option and claimed that “with all its shortcomings, it is a thousand times better and more responsible than the previous government. In every parameter. The question is whether my remaining in the government is beneficial and effective and I answer that in the affirmative.”
Later, Ben Gabir attacked the previous government: “Ganz, under whose watch terrorism jumped by hundreds of percent to a level that had not been seen in many years, responded to terrorism by hosting the terrorist Abu Mazen in his home and distributing half a billion to the Palestinian Authority. This is a government that Mansour Abbas held by the throat and guided its policy.” In addition, he claimed that an agreement with Lebanon is “another example of the enormous damages that the previous government caused.”
He also accused the opposition: “Even when they are not at the wheel, they continue to do harm. The messages they have endeavored to convey to the entire world, by encouraging resistance, by harming the economy, by sending messages that the IDF is disintegrating, that the Israeli economy is in crisis, that Israeli society is crumbling, and that the existence of the State of Israel is in doubt, They are undoubtedly an encouragement to our enemy to start a military conflict.”
Meanwhile, Ben Gvir described in his announcement the actions he took in his office: “We brought a budget of NIS 9 billion to the Ministry of National Security… We passed a government decision to establish a national guard, we went on a governance and law enforcement operation in East Jerusalem… We started the cessation of the terrorists’ celebrations in prison By closing the bakeries and stopping the never-ending showers…we passed the death penalty law for terrorists, and we approved the law on denying citizenship and deporting terrorists.”
“Obviously we would like much more, obviously I want an unequivocal response to terrorism, rockets and incitement and I promise to continue to fight with all my might for our path – yours and mine. I came into politics to change our reality. It won’t happen in one day, it won’t happen easily either, of course Not against systems with a long-standing concept that advocates buying temporary silence, and entire systems that need to change their concept. But I’m here, promising to fight with all my might to change this way. We promised full justice, and I will fight, so that it happens,” he concluded.
In response to the words, attacked the chairman of the state camp, MK Benny Gantz: “Minister Ben Gabir’s statement is a complete loss of temper. There has never been a minister in the cabinet who talked so much about security and understood so little. There has never been a minister in the cabinet who, while rockets are being fired at our citizens and our daughters are being murdered on the roads, chooses to undermine the cohesion of Israeli society and undermine deterrence Netanyahu should condemn his statement and fire him.”
the head of the opposition, Yair Lapidadded: “On this sad day, a few hours after the murder of two young sisters, the Minister of Tiktok Affairs Itamar Ben Gvir chooses to publish a wretched and whiny post in which he is only running away from responsibility and looking for culprits for the failures he signed. I don’t want to think what he would say about the government This failure if he was in the opposition. My heart goes out to the family who lost their two daughters. There is no consolation.”
Chairman of the Labor Party Marev Michaeli: “The right-wing government does not and will not have an answer to terrorism. You cannot put out a fire with a barrel of gasoline. And that is exactly what the members of this government are doing. The only way to restore security is through dialogue with the Palestinians and striving for a political settlement. Who is lying? which says that there is another magic solution. The sooner we understand this, the more precious human lives we will save.”