Israeli government spokesperson Tal Heinrich said Thursday that defense minister Yoav Gallant’s public criticism of his own government’s policy on postwar Gaza was simply part of Israel’s commitment to democracy and free speech.
“Israel is a vibrant democracy. The citizens of this country, and also the country’s elected officials, are entitled to voice their opinions,” Heinrich said.
Earlier this week, Gallant delivered a speech — which was later distributed by the Government Press Office — in which he criticized his own government for declining to outline a specific strategy for “the day after” in Gaza. His criticism echoed criticisms by the Biden administration — which welcomed Gallant’s comments.
A political storm ensued, one that divided the Israeli government publicly, leading Hamas to claim that it was actually winning the war in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, also publicly, that postwar plans depended on defeating Hamas first.
Heinrich said that Israelis are “overwhelmingly united to achieve our just war objectives. And one of our objectives is to ensure that Gaza will never pose a threat to Israel again.”
She said there were points of consensus within the government. One was that Israel “must maintain security responsibility in Gaza” after the war: “There will be zero compromise on our security.”
Another was that “the reconstruction of Gaza must be intertwined with the de-radicalization of Palestinian society.” She quoted Netanyahu, who said, “We will not replace ‘Hamastan’ with ‘Fatahstan’,” referring to Fatah, the supposedly “moderate” political party that controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank but also supports terror.
Heinrich also said that criticism from the U.S., including a decision by President Joe Biden to withhold a shipment of bombs, was not disrupting the war effort.
“It’s no secret that we have certain disagreements with our best friends. And it’s okay. It happens in families,” she said.
Israel appreciated the administration’s help, she said, “for giving us the tools to do whatever it takes to defend ourselves.”
Heinrich also noted that 626 Israeli soldiers had fallen in the war thus far, after clashes continued in Gaza this week. And she slammed the United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRWA, drawing attention to a video that emerged earlier this week of armed terrorists interacting with UN vehicles and firing from within a UNRWA compound in Rafah.
“UNRWA is in bed with Hamas. UNRWA must be replaced by other organizations that are not tainted by support for terrorism.” Heinrich added that UNRWA’s raison d’être was to perpetuate the conflict, not to resolve it.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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