Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, regardless of the intention of countries in the world to unilaterally recognize the Palestinian Authority.
At the Arutz Sheva and Samaria Council conference on sovereignty, Ben-Gvir addressed Netanyahu's statement in an announcement with the US Secretary of State that Israel would respond to any move to recognize the Palestinian Authority. "I have a disagreement with Netanyahu on this matter. Sovereignty should not be done because someone did something. We are a right-wing government and we were elected to advance this issue. We do not need Europe to do anything for us to apply sovereignty. Applying sovereignty should be done because it is the right thing to do, because this is our land and our home. We need to say this to the whole world."
He added, "We are doing what is best for the State of Israel. Living in the Land of Israel, as the Torah commands us, involves sovereignty. Therefore, I say to Netanyahu, sovereignty must be done even without one threat or another. This is an urgent need."
When asked why the application of sovereignty is not set as a condition for the government's continued existence, the minister replied, "For this to happen, Bezalel Smotrich must also join me. We need to remember that we have another year for this government and we need to work for sovereignty, to encourage Palestinian immigration from Gaza. If we change the concept and understand that this is our country and our land, everything will be simpler. We did it in the prisons, in establishing the National Guard, in arms reform, and now I want Netanyahu to do it with sovereignty and encouraging immigration."
Regarding the war in Gaza, Minister Ben Gvir said: "The goals of the war dictated by the political echelon are very simple: to overthrow the Hamas regime. First, we occupy, then we settle, annex and encourage voluntary immigration. This is what needs to be done. You need to know that when you go to war, there is a risk, but when we go to military activity, we bring the return of the hostages even closer. It is better than sitting back and doing nothing." Ben Gvir also addressed reports of tensions between him and the Police Commissioner. "There are no tensions between us. We can have disagreements on different issues. There are elements who try to present that there is a conflict, but we are acting in the best interest of the state. There are things on which we disagree less, but in the end there is policy, and policy should determine the outcome."
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