From the Liveblog of
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Ben Gvir: The cabinet should be stopping Gaza aid trucks — not protesters
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National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticizes violent attacks by settler extremists on trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, though he indicates that he agrees with their demand that supplies not be transferred to Palestinians in the Strip while terror groups there are still holding Israeli hostages.
“We are in a democratic country and I am in favor of freedom of protest.. They are allowed to demonstrate,” he says during an interview with Army Radio.
“I am against them attacking and burning trucks,” he says, noting that he thinks “it’s the cabinet that should be stopping the trucks.”
The far-right minister’s comments come after activists attacked a truck in the central West Bank and assaulted its driver over the weekend in the mistaken belief that it was delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Such attacks in the West Bank largely started last month when Israel agreed to expand the aid route from Jordan to ensure that more assistance gets into Gaza.
The far-right group Tzav 9 has led many similar protests in both the West Bank and within Israel proper, aiming to block aid trucks from reaching Gaza.
Two US officials told The Times of Israel Thursday night that the Biden administration is looking into sanctioning extremist Israelis involved in the recent spate of attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.
The Times of Israel Community.