The minister emphasized that he lacks the authority to act on broader border security issues.
Israel Police and the National Security Ministry are not responsible for the infiltration ofillegal Palestinian entrants into Israel, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said following the deadly terrorist attack in the North on Friday that left 68-year-old Mordechai Samson and 17-year-old Aviv Maor dead and two others wounded.
Speaking to Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on 103FM, Ben-Gvir stated that the responsibility for the security fence does not lie with the police. “The issue of illegal entrants is unfortunately not my responsibility, because responsibility for the fence is not that of the Israel Police,” he said.
Ben-Gvir added that the police are responsible only for the Jerusalem Envelope sector of the seam line, and claimed a pilot program launched there is making an impact.
“They started a nice pilot, shooting illegal entrants; it’s starting to bring the numbers down,” he said.
The minister emphasized that he lacks the authority to act on broader border security issues.
NATIONAL SECURITY Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to the media before a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
“There is a problem with the fences, and unfortunately, I don’t have the authority to touch the fence. Where my responsibility lies, things are working.”
Negev unrest a ‘response’ to enforcement
Ben-Gvir claimed that recent unrest in the Negev is a response to increased police enforcement measures implemented during his tenure.
“This is a price tag for my activity. In the past month, we have reduced shooting incidents in the Negev by 60 percent. We are doing in the Negev what hasn’t been done in 30 years.”
He also addressed recent incidents of car torching in the South, which he described as retaliation against his policies.
“It’s a way of telling me, ‘Ben-Gvir, be careful, watch out, don’t continue.’ I’ll take this opportunity to tell the rioters who are listening to us on the radio: Not only will I continue, I will intensify.”
During the interview, Ben-Gvir also commented on Eli Feldstein, a former employee, and pushed back against suggestions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be held accountable for the actions of people linked to
Ben-Gvir said that representatives acting on his behalf had warned the Prime Minister’s Office about Eli Feldstein before his appointment.
Speaking on Channel 14’s The Patriots program, Ben-Gvir claimed that a close associate contacted officials in the Prime Minister’s Office on two occasions, warning that Feldstein was unreliable.
Ben-Gvir did not name the individuals involved but said they were familiar to the interviewers.
“We warned Netanyahu’s office beforeFeldstein started working there,” he said.
