Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir: —— “Trump’s agreement does not bind us. Israel is not subordinate to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign state.
Our duty to the citizens of Israel, to IDF soldiers, and to the Jewish people, and our historical obligation to Jews who were persecuted and murdered throughout thousands of years of exile, is to provide security for Jews in the Land of Israel.
Every time we yielded to international pressure at the expense of Israel’s security, we paid in blood with interest. This was true with the Oslo Accords, it was true with the Lebanon agreement in 2006, and it was true throughout the entire period of restraint in Gaza, which ultimately exploded in our faces.
Let me emphasize: we love the United States and are grateful to President Trump. At the same time, the State of Israel is not a banana republic.
I say these things to the prime minister constantly, and I repeat them behind closed doors at every important historical crossroads: in historic moments, historic decisions must be made.
My position is clear: we are not party to this agreement, which does not ensure our security, and it does not bind us in any way. We must not compromise on anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah. We must not withdraw from any territory our fighters have captured and cleared of terrorist infrastructure. We must not return to a situation in which thousands of militants sit along the fences of northern communities, and we certainly must not remain silent in the face of attacks against the State of Israel.
We must make it clear: every launch of a drone, UAV, or missile from Lebanon toward Israel will lead to an Israeli strike on Dahieh. That was the deterrence equation only a few months ago, and we must not abandon it under any circumstances.
Above all, we must make clear to everyone: the people of Israel are a 3,000-year-old nation, an eternal people unafraid of a long road ahead. We have faith in the Creator of the world. We are a strong and proud people who returned to our homeland with strength and pride, and we no longer intend to bow our heads before our enemies. The days when Jews absorbed blows and remained silent are over. Never again!”
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