WSJ: Ben-Gvir Says Biden ‘Hampering Israel’s War Effort’, Giving Fuel To Hamas

NEW YORK (VINnews) — In a candid interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jewish Force leader Itamar Ben-Gvir lashed out at the Biden administration for what he called “hampering Israel’s war effort.” Ben-Gvir was particularly incensed that the US administration has attempted to block its arms from be used to defend Judean and Samarian communities. As National Security minister he has been setting up home guards and arming the communities heavily since October 7th in order to prevent a repeat of the Hamas attacks occurring in the heartland of Israel.

In the interview, Ben-Gvir warned that he will oppose any  prisoner exchange deal with Hamas which leads to the freeing of thousands of terrorists or which calls for an end to the war before Hamas is totally defeated.

Netanyahu “is at a crossroads,” Ben-Gvir said. “And he has to choose in what direction he’ll go.”

The U.S. and its regional allies back talks to swiftly end the war through a deal in which Hamas and other militant groups would release the remaining hostages and restart decades-old negotiations to establish a Palestinian state.

However a significant proportion of Israelis, especially on the right, see the murderous Oct. 7 attacks as a chance to chart a new course for Israel by resettling the region with Jews. Ben-Gvir laid out his own plan for Gaza, which would repopulate the devastated coastal strip with Israeli settlements while Palestinians would be offered financial incentives to leave.

Ben-Gvir also said he thought the Biden administration was “hampering Israel’s war effort” by attempting to curb Israel’s manuevers in the Southern Gaza strip. He  believed that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would give Israel a freer hand to quash Hamas.

Ben-Gvir’s rigid stance has left Netanyahu in a bind. He risks heightening Israel’s international isolation if he continues the war, or potentially losing power if Ben-Gvir withdraws his Jewish Power party’s six lawmakers from the governing coalition.

“Ben-Gvir has huge leverage over Netanyahu,” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Jerusalem-based think tank the Israel Democracy Institute. “The last thing Netanyahu needs is an early election and Ben-Gvir knows that.”

Shortly after this article was published Sunday, centrist Israeli politicians attacked Ben-Gvir for what he said during the interview and urged Netanyahu to discipline the far-right leader. War-cabinet minister Benny Gantz, who controls the second-largest party in Netanyahu’s emergency government, wrote on X that Ben-Gvir’s attacks on Biden “harm the strategic relations of the State of Israel, the security of the state and the current war effort.” Opposition leader Yair Lapid called Ben-Gvir’s comments “a direct attack on Israel’s international standing.”

But the 47-year-old right-winger is undeterred by criticism of his gauche, uncompromising stance.

“Instead of giving us his full backing, Biden is busy with giving humanitarian aid and fuel [to Gaza], which goes to Hamas,” said Ben-Gvir, giving voice to popular sentiment among many right-wing Israelis. “If Trump was in power, the U.S. conduct would be completely different.”

Israeli officials initially signaled in the wake of the Hamas attack that they would completely cut off food, water, electricity and fuel from the strip to force Hamas to surrender. But under pressure from the U.S. and with the humanitarian situation in the strip worsening, Israel has relented and now says it is trying to get as much aid into Gaza as it can, though, the United Nations says aid flowing into the enclave still isn’t sufficient.

Ben-Gvir’s approach is gaining popularity. Once a fringe idea before Oct. 7, a small majority of Jewish Israelis now fully or somewhat support the establishment of Jewish settlements inside Gaza, according to a poll conducted by Tel Aviv University last month. Israel once had settlements in the enclave but uprooted them in 2005 to bolster separation from the Palestinians.

Ben-Gvir says his plan is to “encourage Gazans to voluntarily emigrate to places around the world” by offering them cash incentives. He called it “the real humanitarian” thing to do. He said he knew Palestinians would be open to this idea through discussions with Palestinians in the West Bank and intelligence material he received as a minister. He declined to share what those materials say.

A global conference, he said, could help find countries willing to take in Palestinian refugees. Polls and widespread public discussions among Palestinians suggest that such a plan would be overwhelmingly opposed by Gaza residents, many of whom fear Israel’s war is really aimed at permanently displacing them and replacing them with Jewish settlers.

It would also be vociferously opposed by the U.S. and Arab governments, which are demanding Israel relinquish control of Gaza and allow its residents to return to their homes.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, has said that Israel doesn’t seek to occupy Gaza, but would retain full security control over Gaza until it was satisfied the territory would no longer constitute a threat to Israel. The prime minister has recently said his policies contradict the idea of a Palestinian state, though in his long career he has at times been ambiguous or openly supported the idea.

The Wall Street Journal concludes that “There are signs that Ben-Gvir has a growing influence in the debate, however, and Netanyahu increasingly needs him.”

On Tuesday, after reports emerged of a hostage deal that could involve the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, Ben-Gvir wrote on social media that he would topple the government if it passed. Hours later, Netanyahu appeared in a religious West Bank settlement to announce that he likewise would oppose any such deal, despite the fact that he has been largely quiet until now about hostage negotiations.

Dor Harlap, a member of Likud’s central committee, said while it sometimes looks like Netanyahu is reacting to Ben-Gvir’s pronouncements, in reality he is reacting to the shifting sentiment among right-wing voters—just not as quickly as Ben-Gvir.

Ben-Gvir said he is in no rush to pull the rug out from Netanyahu. He said the likely result would be that a center-left government would take over—and that his own career was just getting started.

“God willing, I’ll go far,” said Ben-Gvir, a grin spreading across his face.