Jerusalem/Gaza, April 10, 2023 (Xinhua) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the retention of Yoav Gallant in his position as Minister of Defense, in a press conference today (Monday), in which he considered that Israel is under a “terrorist” attack, stressing that he will not allow the establishment of an infrastructure for the resistance movement. Islamic (Hamas) in Lebanon.
“Our country is under terrorist attack, and our enemies have interpreted the insurrection calls as weakness,” Netanyahu said, during the conference held at the Defense Ministry headquarters in the coastal city of Tel Aviv in central Israel, after days of tensions on the country’s northern and southern front.
He stressed that his government would “restore deterrence and repair the damage, but that will take time, but it will happen in the end.”
He added, “We took action in Syria against Iranian targets, and we will not allow the establishment of Hamas’s infrastructure in Lebanon,” warning that the Syrian regime “will pay a heavy price if it allows anyone to act against us from its territory.”
“We are still in the middle of the battle, ready to take strong action on all fronts as needed,” he added.
In recent days, tensions have escalated in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and several Israeli police raids on the mosque over the past week have sparked Palestinian anger.
Armed Palestinian factions fired rockets from Gaza in response to the mosque incidents. Last Thursday, rockets were fired from southern Lebanon at northern Israel, which responded by launching air strikes.
Two days ago, the Israeli army announced that it had detected three missile launches from Syria towards Israel, while Damascus said yesterday that the Syrian air defense media had responded to an Israeli missile strike that targeted points in the southern region.
Regarding the dismissal of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant because of his opposition to the judicial amendments, Netanyahu said, “I decided to keep Galant in his post as defense minister.”
In late March, Netanyahu announced the freezing of the judicial amendments plan in order to give the opportunity to hold talks with opposition parties.
The announcement of the freezing of judicial legislation came in the wake of the escalation of protests against the government’s plan to amend the judicial system and the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after he called on the government to halt judicial legislation.
Netanyahu touched on the establishment of the Israeli “National Guard”, saying that the guard would be a professionally organized security apparatus affiliated with one of the security agencies and not “a militia affiliated with anyone,” describing the establishment of the guard as “a correct and necessary step.”
Last week, the Israeli government approved the establishment of a “national guard” under the supervision of the Ministry of National Security, amid Palestinian condemnation.
Commenting on Netanyahu’s statement, the head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, MK Avigdor Lieberman, said in a tweet on Twitter, “The prime minister’s statement tonight proves that the man is not fit to perform his role, and the man is not responsible for his actions.”
On the other hand, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) underestimated the importance of Netanyahu’s speech, in which he attacked the movement.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem considered Netanyahu’s statements an attempt to “reverse the facts,” noting that “the Israeli occupation is the basis of all tensions.”
“The occupation practices terrorism in a systematic and continuous manner,” Qassem said in a statement, a copy of which was received by Xinhua News Agency.
Qassem added that Netanyahu’s threats against the Palestinian people, Syria, Lebanon and Iran confirm that “the Zionist entity poses a threat to the entire region and its interests.”
