Ben Gvir: Netanyahu bears the guilt of October 7...but he is not the most responsible

Tel Aviv - Ofoq News - A few days before the elections, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, in his first interview with foreign media since assuming office four years ago, held Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials responsible for the events of October 7.

In the interview, which was conducted today, Thursday, Ben Gvir discussed the war on the Gaza Strip and his plans to encourage voluntary migration from the Strip.

The lengthy interview was published in the American magazine "Time" under the title "Ben Gvir's plan to push Netanyahu to the right," with a black and white photo showing Ben Gvir.

The interviewer, Eric Cortez, described him at the beginning of the article as “a far-right man, who was previously considered too extreme to serve in the Israeli army, and who now seeks to make Netanyahu more dependent on extremist parties that call on Palestinians to leave Gaza and the West Bank, and for Israel to impose its sovereignty over these territories.”

“If Israel wants to survive and not be destroyed, we must occupy all of Gaza. We must encourage voluntary migration,” argued Ben Gvir. "Gaza could become a Riviera. It's a beautiful place. But there can't be even a single Hamas member there."

The interview also stated that Ben Gvir "has become one of the most prominent voices on the Israeli right that seeks to hold the Israeli military and intelligence establishment responsible for Netanyahu's failures on October 7th."

The minister said: “Even if Netanyahu is not infallible, and even if he made mistakes - and he did make mistakes - what he brought down on October 7 was our intelligence. The army, the intelligence officer, the Shin Bet. Everyone is guilty.”

He added: "Netanyahu is not innocent of guilt, but there are many who are more guilty than him."

But Ben Gvir pointed out, "He wants Netanyahu as prime minister. He is a leader. I do not support him blindly, and I am not among his entourage. But I prefer him a million times over Eisenkot. What will really help Netanyahu to be right-wing is for me, Ben Gvir, to be a high-ranking minister, so the government becomes completely right-wing."