Newly-reinstated National Security Minister says recent events have proven he was right to oppose the January ceasefire deal, Hamas will only release the remaining hostages if its food supply is destroyed.
Israel National News
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir addressed the possibility of a new hostage deal and his return to the government following the resumption of the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with the ‘This Morning’ program on Kan Reshet Bet, Ben-Gvir explained his decision to return to the government: ‘When I left, I said, ‘I am a man of principles’ and Otzma Yehudit stood by these principles – it was a reckless deal, so we left. When they renewed the war, we returned. I believe the prime minister thinks I was right.’
Ben-Gvir detailed his approach to how to return the hostages from Gaza: ‘The hostages in Gaza are my brothers. I think that in order to release them, we now need to bomb Hamas’ food stores. I say to the Prime Minister: Let’s bomb all the food stores in Gaza, all the power lines in Gaza. Why are there lights in Gaza? There must not be a single light.’
Addressing why Israel chose to resume the war last week, Ben-Gvir stated, ‘We returned to fighting because Hamas does not want to release any hostages, we went back on the offensive because Hamas is violating the agreements. I did not like the agreement from the beginning, which is why I resigned from the government. We must remember that there is one side here, which is a murderous terrorist organization. The blame lies solely with it and we need to destroy it to the ground. That’s what a normal country would do.’
‘I was very impressed with the new Chief of Staff, at the first cabinet meeting I met him,’ he stated.
In conclusion, he said, ‘My security ideas have proven themselves, if they had listened to me before, there might not have been October 7th. While I said to bomb Gaza – people here were living in an illusion.’