Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, chairwoman of the Jewish Home Party, told i24NEWS on Thursday that Israel must not give in to any threat from Hezbollah over the maritime border agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
Asked about the US-mediated negotiations to demarcate the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon, Shaked said she would soon attend a meeting to get more information.
"Once we have all the details, I will express myself on the merits, but what must be said is that the gas from the Karish platform must be exploited and that it is under Israeli control,” she asserted, referring to the Karish gas field in the Mediterranean Sea that both countries claim.
While opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu strongly lambasted any agreement with Beirut over the maritime border, Shaked said he would respect it despite everything if he became Prime Minister again.
The US-brokered agreement being negotiated between Israel and Lebanon has been met with criticism by the opposition in Israel, particularly from Netanyahu, who once again attacked the agreement at a special press conference on Monday evening.
"The time has come to say enough, enough of this dangerous government of weakness. This weakness has only become apparent now, when Lapid surrendered to Hezbollah's threats. His agreement of surrender is illegal, and we will not be bound by it," said the opposition chairman.
Beyond the criticism of many members of the opposition, former US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, also lambasted the agreement on Monday.
Shaked also told i24NEWS on Thursday, with Israel’s legislative elections just weeks away, that without her Jewish Home party, there would be no right-wing bloc, citing a poll released on Thursday which indicated that maintaining its candidacy would be profitable to Netanyahu.
“We will join Netanyahu and form a right-wing government. Without The Jewish Home, the left-wing bloc will grow stronger. The Jewish Home is the solution to creating a right-wing government. There can be no government without us. The interest of the right camp is that we pass the eligibility threshold,” she underlined.