Yariv Oppenheimer
Yariv OppenheimerFlash 90

Yariv Oppenheimer, director of the far-left Peace Now organization, criticized Economy Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday, after Bennett said that the goal of the current campaign in Gaza must include a clear military decision that leaves Hamas defeated and disarmed.

"How convenient it is to be Bennett and push Netanyahu into Gaza," said Oppenheimer.

"If it does not happen that you can blame Netanyahu and say ‘we told you so’, and if it does happen, Netanyahu will be responsible for the failure and the complication of the day after,” he added.

"I propose that Israel agree to lift the siege on Gaza in return for security arrangements and to ensure that the Gazans really will have nothing to lose next time. Every other option will shed blood and ultimately lead to the same end result," said Oppenheimer.

Bennett said earlier that "only a decisive victory will prevent the next war.”

“Radical Islam seeks to erase the Jewish state from the face of the earth,” he explained. “They do not seek a strip of land or a Palestinian state. Only our annihilation. [Ayatollah] Khamenei in Iran. Nasrallah in Lebanon. Haniyeh in Gaza. Meshaal in Qatar. All of the jihadist arms that are waiting to see how we respond.

In a later visit to the southern city of Ashkelon, Bennett called for continued battle in Gaza until Hamas terrorist is “brought to its knees.”

“In battle, we do not stop; we continue more and more until the goal is achieved,” Bennett said. “The Iron Dome works, the Home Front is strong, the soldiers and their officers have removed the rust. They are succeeding. We are ripping Hamas apart from many perspectives.”