Israeli minister calls to bar fuel from Gaza, execute Oct. 7 terrorists

National Security Minister blasts war cabinet, pushes for government to cut off fuel shipments, refuse further truces.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A senior Israeli minister slammed the government’s war cabinet Monday, and called for Israel to tighten the siege on the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at a faction meeting of the Otzma Yehudit party Monday afternoon, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir lamented that Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip has yet to restore the Jewish state’s deterrence vis-a-vis Hamas, and called for stronger steps to defeat the terrorist group and to secure the return of Israeli captives held in Gaza.

“Hamas wasn’t deterred on the 7th of October, and still, after 73 days of fighting, they haven’t been defeated.”

Ben-Gvir blasted aid for the Gaza Strip, and pressure on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) to transfer taxes collected by Israel on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf to Ramallah.

“When you want to defeat [them], you don’t transfer money to any official, whether it be an official from the Palestinian Authority or one organization or another – even officials from UNRWA.”

“When you want to defeat [Hamas], you don’t have truces and you don’t allow our enemy to set horrendous conditions on the release of captives.”

Ben-Gvir called on the government to refuse additional ceasefires with Hamas, and to instead pressure the terror group by once again banning the entry of fuel into the Strip, and to execute terrorists from the Nukhba Force who took part in the October 7th invasion and subsequent atrocities.

“Every day the name of yet another hero who was killed in Gaza is released for publication, instead we need to identify the thousands of terrorists killed in Gaza. We aren’t able to freely use the death penalty law for terrorists, which [had it been passed] would have allowed us to create a simple equation: For every day the captives aren’t returned to us, another Nukhba terrorists will be executed.”

“We need to stop talking in business terms and start talking in terms of victory.”

Hamas terrorists “are launching missiles at us from humanitarian safe zones. The time has come to evaluate [the war]. And I’m telling this to the prime minister, Gantz, and Gallant.”