Religious terrorist minister also threatened Beirut, likening its future to that of north Gaza’s Beit Hanoun which has been largely destroyed by Israel
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir rejected a potential ceasefire in Lebanon on Monday, saying that the country should instead be ‘Israel’s playground’.
During his Otzma Yehudit party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Ben Gvir demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu communicate Israel’s rejection of any peace deal with Lebanon to US President Donald Trump.
‘Netanyahu needs to go to President Trump, embrace him and say to him: ‘President Trump, we cannot fulfill this agreement’, he said.
He also threatened Beirut, likening its future to that of north Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, which was largely destroyed by Israel during the ongoing genocidal campaign in the besieged enclave.
‘The equation must be very simple and clear: the State of Israel must be safe. If Israel is not safe, Beirut will look like Beit Hanoun,’ he said.
The far-right minister also reiterated vows made over the weekend, saying that ‘not a single tear from an Israeli mother’ can be tolerated. ‘Even if there are tears from a thousand Lebanese mothers, we need to keep going.’
During an appearance on Israel’s Channel 14, Ben Gvir went on to say that ‘all of Lebanon should become Israel’s playground’.
‘All of Lebanon should be our goal,’ he doubled-down, rejecting the idea of separating the targeting of Hezbollah from the rest of Lebanon.
Israel’s expanding military presence in Lebanon and the intensifying air strikes across southern and eastern parts of the country have been a challenging factor for the ceasefire talks between Iran and the US, negotiated by partners including Pakistan and Qatar.
The Lebanon front has become a major point of confrontation between the Trump administration and the Israeli government.
Throughout the ceasefire efforts, Israel repeatedly rejected calls from the US as well as other G7 countries to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has been calling on the Lebanese government to reject any direct negotiations with Israel while Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue.
But the Lebanese government was openly hopeful that the US-Iran deal could end the hostilities in the region.
Since 2 March, Israel has murdered almost 4,000 people and injured 11,781 others.