MK Amit Halevi (Likud), in a conversation with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, discussed the American pressure on Israel not to operate in Rafah.
"First of all Israel is a sovereign state. I know it's difficult for some of our citizens to get used to it, but Israel is a sovereign state. That doesn't mean it doesn't have to take everything into account, but in the, it's a sovereign state. I'll say more than this, sovereign states need to respect each other's sovereignty, and allies even more so. Our expectation from the US is to respect our sovereignty," Halevi states.
"One thing must be said: the US is a democracy. We need to address the public opinion in America, and the public opinion must know, that when we go into Rafah, we want go into Rafah to save Washington, not just to save Jerusalem. To save Washington since the enemy is a common enemy of the Western world, of the free world. Israel must bring this to the public opinion first and foremost. And that will automatically influence the American leaders," he adds.
Halevi insists that "either way, Israel has to respect its own sovereignty; and whoever respects themselves, others respect them."