Iranian anti-government activist Vahid Behashti visited Israel to speak at a Knesset forum held by Knesset members Ohad Tal (Religious Zionist Party) and Evgeny Sova (Yisrael Beytenu) regarding Israel’s post-war plans for the Gaza Strip.
The forum event, hosted in cooperation with the Israeli Victory Project, saw guest speakers from Israel and overseas discuss the situation in Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas – including Behashti, who grew up in Iran and now lives in London.
“Soon you will have to deal with the elephant in the room, which is the Iranian government. We should not be afraid of attacking Iranian bases in Iran. Do not be afraid to attack the heads of the Iranian leadership in Iran – this is the only language they understand,” Behashti said.
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“The good news is that you have an army of 80 million Iranians who are thirsty for freedom and democracy. They have been trying to overthrow the government since 2009 but have not yet succeeded due to the barbaric violence of the Iranian government,” the anti-government activist said.
“The Iranian government is at its greatest weakness in 44 years. They were aware of the attack on the seventh of October in advance and estimated that after the terrible attack, they would achieve a total ceasefire within two months – but this did not happen,” Behashti declared.
‘The day after’ Hamas is overthrown
Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel presented the main points of her plan for the voluntary migration of the residents of the Gaza Strip, saying that the international community must mobilize to create a pool of countries that will take in refugees while receiving an aid package for them.
“With proper diplomatic and communication work, the international system can be harnessed for this," she said. "Implementing an outline of voluntary humanitarian evacuation will allow Gaza refugees who wish to have the opportunity to rebuild their lives" to do so "without the tyranny and oppression of Hamas."
Zvika Hauser, Israel's former chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, presented his post-war plan with three conditions – the expulsion of the remaining Hamas members from the Gaza Strip, the complete demilitarization of Gaza, and the creation of a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel proper.
Conservative MK Simcha Rothman (RZP) emphasized the need to control the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza’s border with Egypt – including the Rafah crossing, which Israel controlled until 2005 – while MK Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) called for the renewal of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
"The only and exclusive victory, both for our enemies and for us, is one: the return of settlement to the Gaza Strip," Har-Melech said at the forum. "Jewish children walking in its streets – this is the only image that will demonstrate to our enemy that we have defeated him."
Danon to Netanyahu: Decisive victory, not surgical activity
MK Danny Danon (Likud) made a personal appeal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "I am turning to the prime minister and telling him directly: We must show determination and strength and must continue on the path we started. Now the cabinet has decided to change the form of operation and switch to surgical activity: It is impossible to reach decisive victory in this way.”
Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Amir Avivi concurred with the idea of having an Israeli presence on Gaza's border with Egypt. "If you want there to never be a terrorist army in Gaza, you must sit on the Egyptian border. This means not only the Philadelphi corridor but all of Rafah. We also need the IDF's military freedom of action everywhere.
“Attempting to secede from Gaza has no long-term legitimacy… the only sustainable model is a combination of increasing security responsibility with settlement," Avivi said. "I say this here to the Israeli government: The army does not know how to bring a long-term vision – you are the ones who have to give it to them. It is possible to turn Gaza into a place without rockets."
Israel and Naomi Weiser, whose son St.-Sgt. Roey Weiser fell on October 7 while defending his fellow soldiers at the Erez crossing, said: "We must learn from our failures to be a deterrent for the future. This must also be the last war… we will avenge the blood spilled."
Chairman of the coalition MK Ohad Tal, who co-hosted the event, provided concluding statements: "The time has come for us to stop setting as our goal more and more tactical victories. Hamas has taught us that the time has come for a real and strategic victory.
"The goal of the war should be that the State of Israel controls the entire Gaza Strip – not temporarily, but permanently," he said. "Gaza is part of the State of Israel and should once again be in Israel's hands.”
MK Evgeny Sova, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, chairman of the Israeli Victory Consciousness lobby and the event’s co-host, said during his opening remarks: "Our victory is guaranteed thanks to the strength and resilience of Israeli society. We are now in the middle of the campaign, so we must put aside the differences and divisions in order to reach absolute victory.
"The day will come when we will examine the neglect and omissions, but not now," he said. "We must create security in the South and the North and restore national pride.”
Neve Darumi, a member of the Israeli Victory Project, added: "We are happy to see that everyone is talking about victory, but the key is to turn victory on the battlefield into a permanent victory over our enemies, and not just in Gaza.
"We need a permanent victory that will break their fighting spirit and ensure the security and future of the people of Israel," Darumi said. "Anything less than that will be considered another round of hostilities.”