Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Defense Minister, Israel Katz, stated that Israel will not withdraw from any territory it has conquered, following the announcement of the peace agreement between the US and Iran, which provides for the end of hostilities, including in Lebanon.
“Trump’s agreement does not bind us. Israel is not subordinate to the United States; we are an independent and sovereign state”, wrote Ben-Gvir in a post on X this Monday, 15. “We must not withdraw from any territory that our fighters have occupied and cleaned of terrorist infrastructure”, he added.
Ben-Gvir also highlighted that Israel “loves” the US and is grateful to President Donald Trump, but that Tel-Aviv is not “a banana republic”.
According to ABC NewsKatz declared that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are pursuing “a clear policy” according to which the Israel Defense Forces “will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza indefinitely.”
“The area will be cleared of local residents and all terrorist infrastructure, above and below ground – including homes in contact villages that served as terrorist outposts – will be destroyed,” Katz said.
Netanyahu has not yet commented on the understanding announced between the US and Iran, but the Israeli newspaper Ynet Global stated, citing sources, that the prime minister told Trump that Israel does not consider itself bound by the clause relating to Lebanon in the agreement with Iran, making it clear that it will not accept any understanding that limits its freedom to act against Hezbollah. According to Israeli officials, Netanyahu also informed Trump that Israel will not withdraw from Lebanon.
Netanyahu’s announcement comes after Trump harshly criticized his ally in an interview with The New York Times. The American leader said the Israeli prime minister “should be very grateful” for the Iran deal and claimed that Washington saved Israel from nuclear destruction. “He’s a very tough guy and, to be honest, he should be very grateful to us for doing this. Because if Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel wouldn’t even last two hours,” he said.
