
MK Dan Illouz (Likud), claimed in a conversation with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News that it is still too early to judge the government and determine whether the goals of the war have been achieved, since the military campaign is still in progress.
"The goals have not yet been fully achieved, but the government has not failed. From the first day we said that this would be a difficult and very long military campaign. I understand the desire to achieve quick results. Israel has a long tradition of short wars with great achievements, but here we are in a different situation, progressing slowly to protect our soldiers. We have not given up on any of our goals for the war and we will not give up on them either," announced Illouz.
The rise of terrorism, among others as expressed in the murderous attack in Ra'anana and the thwarting of the severe attack in Adora, does not surprise him: "We know that the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria support the murderous attack on October 7th, and we are demanding that the army act with all its might. Judea and Samaria also have a concentration of terrorist cells, and we must make sure that we protect both the security of the residents of the region, as well as all of Israel's citizens."
He strongly opposes the opinion stated by a member of his party, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who supports permitting the entrance of Palestinian Authority Arab workers into pre-1967 Israel.
"It's a terrible mistake," Illouz stressed. "Behind it is the same concept that existed before October 7, that you can buy peace with money. In one sentence the Minister said this week, he mentioned three things that are scandalous and should be precisely our ‘red lines’: bring in workers, transfer money to the Palestinians, and strengthen the Palestinian Authority."
“I do not agree with this and will use all the parliamentary tools at my disposal, including the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, to try to fight this issue. Fortunately, I am not alone and I believe we can prevent this."
When asked if he believes that Israel made a mistake when it participated in the hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in South Africa's case against Israel, Illouz responded: "We will know whether it was a serious mistake or not, only after we see the results. I am not optimistic, I must say, but I also do not think that we should be too excited. Now we have a historic task to defeat Hamas unequivocally and with a very clear image of victory. It will take time and we must not get too excited by international pressure."
"What happened in The Hague is nothing less than the theater of the absurd. It's like taking the US and Britain after World War II, sitting them in a tribunal with pro-Nazi judges and asking whether it was okay for them to save the free world," he added.
Finally, Illouz called on all members of the Zionist parties to put aside their differences and join the government for the sake of the people of Israel: "In times of war, we need unity. I call on all the Zionist members in the Knesset to unite and join the government for the days of the war. Then we can return to our debates and consider if it is right for everyone to keep the unity government, or go for elections."