New Delhi: Even as the world heaved a sigh of relief after Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire agreement to end the US-Iran war has been finalised, Israel struck discordant note.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, launched a fierce attack on the US-brokered agreement with Iran, and declared that Israel won’t be bound by any arrangement announced by President Trump.
The far right minister went on to add that Israel’s security decisions would be made in Jerusalem, not Washington DC.
“Trump’s agreement does not bind us. Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation. We love the USA and are grateful to President Trump. And yet, the State of Israel is not a banana republic,” Ben-Gvir said in a lengthy post on social media.
According to the minister, Israel’s first responsibility is to its citizens, soldiers and national security interests.
“Our duty is to the citizens of Israel, to the soldiers of the IDF, and to the Jewish people, and our historical duty to the persecuted and murdered Jews over thousands of years of exile, to provide security to Jews in the Land of Israel,” Ben-Gvir stated.
“Every time we succumbed to international pressure at the expense of Israel’s security, we paid
a blood price with interest,” he said, adding that he had conveyed his views to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I say these things to the Prime Minister all the time, and repeat them in closed rooms at every important historical juncture. In historical moments, a historical decision must be made,” he said.
Ben-Gvir stressed that he is against any agreement that, he feels, does not guarantee Israel’s security.
“My position is clear: We are not partners to this agreement that does not ensure our security, and it does not bind us in any way,” he said.
“We must not compromise on anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah, we must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have captured and cleared of terror infrastructure, and we must not return to a situation where thousands of terrorists sit on the fences of northern settlements,” he said.
Ben-Gvir demanded a forceful military response to attacks originating from Lebanon.
“Every launch of a drone, UAV, or missile toward Israel from Lebanon will lead to an Israeli strike in Dahiya. That was the deterrence balance just a few months ago, and we must not give it up in any way,” he said.
Ben-Gvir found support from former Defence Minister Benny Gantz.
A leading opposition figure, Gantz expressed strong reservations about the diplomatic track, warning against any arrangement that could restrict Israel’s military freedom of action.
“Under no circumstances is it permissible to agree to restrict Israel’s freedom of action in Lebanon or to a withdrawal that endangers the residents of the north,” Gantz wrote on X.
The agreement with Iran was a “strategic failure” according to Gantz.
“The emerging agreement with Iran appears to be a strategic failure that will require Israel to engage in diplomatic, military, and legal struggles in the coming years, which only a broad Zionist government can lead,” he said.