A number of right-wing politicians called on Wednesday for the government to launch a large-scale operation in the northern West Bank, after Tuesday's terror attack near Eli that killed four Israeli citizens and wounded four others.
National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded on that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Council head Tzahi Hanegbi convene the National Security Cabinet,
Ben-Gvir: My role in Israel's government demands my voice be taken into account
"I received a detailed update from the military secretary on the situation assessment at [the IDF's] Central Command, but with all due respect to the participants, most of whom were high-ranking military officials … The public voted in the election for those who are appointed ministers, and our role is to be the decision-makers and not recipients of updates," Ben-Gvir wrote in a letter to Hanegbi, with a copy sent to Netanyahu as well.
"My role and the six mandates that the public gave to the Otzma Yehudit party which is part of this government, require that my voice be heard and taken into account. True, I am aware of the fact that not everyone in the prime minister's circle is happy with my demands to take down buildings, assassinate terrorists and bring back roadblocks," Ben-Gvir added, repeating comments he made during a visit to the site of the attack on Tuesday.
Smotrich on Tuesday also demanded that the cabinet convene to discuss the security situation in northern Samaria.
National Missions Minister Orit Struk, a member of Smotrich's party, blamed the previous government for the difficult security situation.
Asked by a reporter from the Kipa media outlet whether the government was failing on security, Struk answered, "I don't think that the failure is ours and that the difficult situation is specifically because of this government. Everyone knows and understands that the terror burst out strongly … following [National Unity chairman and former defense minister MK] Benny Gantz's terrible decision to remove the IDF from the center of Nablus and Jenin."
According to Struk, Gantz stopped the "lawnmower" strategy whereby the IDF would periodically go in to the center of Palestinian towns and arrest or kill terrorists. A "jungle" grew due to this, and the current government needed to internalize that the "lawnmower" strategy no longer worked, because "someone critically damaged the mechanism, created a monster, and now we need to treat it with completely other tools."
National Unity MK Matan Kahana responded in an interview on Channel 7, "I am searching for the correct words to express my disgust from minister Struk's comments – they are divisive and pit people against each other. Simply terrible behavior," Kahana said, adding that the only ones who were responsible for the attack were the terrorists themselves.
A member of Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party (RZP), MK Zvi Sukkot, threatened on Ynet Radio on Wednesday that if the security situation continued "without a proper response" – he would cease to be a member of the coalition.
Likud MK Tally Gotliv called for collective punishments for terror attacks in a tweet on Wednesday.
"Killing terrorists isn't enough," she wrote. "It's heroic and brave, no question, but it's not enough. The terrorists aren't working alone. They only understand power! I am uncompromisingly right-wing. Wherever a terrorist comes from, the whole place needs to pay. Collective punishment. Only like that! I've had enough of a country that worships momentary quiet."
Opposition members also criticized the government.
Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman wrote on Twitter, "A feeble, frightened government that exhibits weakness every day. Hezbollah's incursion into Israel's sovereign territory and lack of IDF response, reflect the true abilities of the fully 'right-wing' government," Liberman wrote.
Labor MK Gilad Kariv said, "Whoever claims that the answer to the terror wave is to increase IDF activity, without addressing the need to renew dialogue with the Palestinian Authority and acting significantly to strengthen it, is a liar who is deceiving the public."
"Every party and Knesset member from the opposition that does not say this unequivocally strengthens the deception of Netanyahu, whose policy in the last decade only strengthened Hamas and its dominance over the Palestinian street," Kariv added.