National Security Minister and far-right Otzma Yehudit chairman MK Itamar Ben-Gvir is the "face of Israel and of the government that people in the world see, and this is not only outrageous, it is dangerous," opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid said in response to a question by The Jerusalem Post at a press conference on Monday.
Lapid's criticism came in response to an interview with Ben-Gvir that was published in a Wall Street Journal published on Sunday, in which the national security minister said, “Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with humanitarian aid and fuel [to Gaza], which goes to Hamas. If Trump [were] in power, the US conduct would be completely different."
Asked whether Ben-Gvir's statements were indeed harmful, as he is not a member of Israel's war cabinet and does not have much contact with US officials, Lapid said, "Unfortunately, the outrageous things he said to the WSJ influenced quite a bit … I think people do take him seriously because they know the size and magnitude of his effect on the government … and is a political force."
Lapid in his statement to the press warned that the month of Ramadan is around the corner, and that Ben-Gvir's conduct will lead to another disaster, as Ramadan is considered a period of heightened security tensions.
"I see it as my duty to warn the government. The country is not ready. There is no preparation. No plan. There were no sufficient discussions on the operational and diplomatic levels. We are on the way to a disaster, another disaster," Lapid warned.
Lapid claimed that while Ben-Gvir "wanted" the tension to "go up in flames," this was not what Israel needs. He called on the prime minister to "remove Ben-Gvir's authorities, and immediately form a senior team to prepare the country."
Complicated relationship with the Biden administration
Ben-Gvir addressed the criticism in his weekly press conference on Monday. While he recognized the "complicated reality" of Israel's relationship with the US administration, Ben-Gvir reiterated that "the Biden administration must stop pressuring us to enter fuel and humanitarian equipment that end up going to Hamas."
Ben-Gvir added that he learned two things from the responses: First, that many people in Israel agreed with him that Biden's actions were contributing to Hamas's ability to fight Israel, and second, that both television news figures and members of the Likud did not like his criticism. Ben-Gvir claimed that thousands of people had written to him saying that they agree with his claim, and also that an "anonymous source" in the Likud contacted members of the party and told them to bash him publicly.
"I want to say to that source, and I want to say to those Knesset members, and I want to say to those analysts: I do things my way, without wavering, without backing down, [I] continue to raise things that hurt Israelis: There is a problem with the small [war] cabinet's conduct facing the US administration," Ben-Gvir said.
In other news on Monday, Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich placed the national budget for the year 2024 on the Knesset floor, over two weeks after a January 20 deadline required by Israel's quasi-constitutional Basic Law: State Economy. The Knesset by law must debate the budget for a minimum of 30 days. However, according to law, on February 19 there will be a sweeping budget cut to all government ministries, which will be in effect until the new budget law passes. The consequences of the delay are that the government will be unable to conduct any new transactions beginning on February 19 and until the budget passes. If the budget continues to be delayed, some of the government ministries may face issues in paying salaries to employees and may temporarily shut