“It is simple, the right to life supersedes the right to free movement,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told reporters as he entered Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting.
In a separate comment, he said “the whole world understands what I mean, only BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement) does not understand.
“They understand because it is true. It is obvious.”
Ben-Gvir’s comments come after he caused a stir in a television interview last week when he told the interviewer that “My right and that of my wife and my children, to travel on the roads in Judea and Samaria, is more important than the freedom of movement for Arabs.
“That is the reality, that is the truth. My right to life precedes your freedom of movement,” he said.
The statement was quickly condemned by the US State Department, which released a statement saying “We strongly condemn Minister Ben-Gvir’s inflammatory comments on the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents of the West Bank.
“We condemn all racist rhetoric; as such messages are particularly damaging when amplified by those in leadership positions and are incongruent with advancing respect for human rights for all.”
The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement in support of Ben-Gvir just as Shabbat set in last week, writing “Israel allows maximum freedom of movement in Judea and Samaria for both Israelis and Palestinians. Unfortunately, Palestinian terrorists take advantage of this freedom of movement to murder Israeli women, children, and families by ambushing them at certain points on different routes.
“Thirty-four civilians have been murdered by Palestinian terrorists in 2023, many of them while driving home. The most recent incident occurred when Bat-Sheva Nagari was murdered on route 60 in Judea in front of her 6-year-old daughter.”
Continuing, “This is what Minister Ben-Gvir meant when he said ‘the right to life precedes freedom of movement.’ Israel will continue its policy of maintaining security while affording freedom of movement for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Ben-Gvir reiterates his "inflammatory" message
Ben-Gvir also reiterated his words in a video message released last Friday, saying “Not only do I not regret my words, I am saying them again:
“Our right to arrive home peacefully, to travel in Judea and Samaria, and not be murdered takes precedence over the freedom of movement of Palestinian Authority residents.”
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.