Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said on Wednesday that Israel cannot stop destroying homes in southern Lebanon despite the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding that calls for an end to Israel’s war in the country.
“Israel cannot stop the demolition of houses in southern Lebanon. We simply cannot stop, that’s all,” Ben Gvir said, according to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, which cited the Israeli Knesset’s broadcast channel.
“We cannot allow the residents of southern Lebanon to return. We must continue to control the territory even if we disagree with Trump, we are an independent state,” Ben Gvir added.
Iranian officials have made clear that they will insist on a real ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as part of their deal with the US, though Ben Gvir and other senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have vowed that Israel will not pull out of the country.
Israeli attacks continued in Lebanon on Wednesday despite the US-Iran MoU, and at least two people were killed. The war could unravel the potential US-Iran deal as Iran’s military is warning of a “harsh response” if Israel continues its attacks in Lebanon.
Ben Gvir is more explicit about Israel’s designs for Lebanon, as he said last month that Israel has a “settlement plan” for southern Lebanon, while Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz frame their desire for an indefinite occupation of the territory the IDF has seized in the country as necessary for “security” purposes.
Israeli media reports that Ben Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party, suggested at a recent cabinet meeting that the IDF should kidnap women and children in Lebanon as a way to pressure Hezbollah.
