Bennett cautions that guaranteeing long-term calm in Gaza area will take time

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett says he is committed to ensuring long-term calm in the Gaza border area but cautions that achieving this will take time.

“I know that for 20 years this didn’t happen,” Bennett tells the Walla news site. “This won’t happen in the four or five days until the elections, this is a process beyond a one-time operation.”

“However, we will bring security and quiet to residents of the [Gaza] periphery,” he adds.

He addresses Israel’s decision to strike a Palestinian Islamic Jihad site in Damascus in response to the terror group firing rockets at Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip.

“Last night we brought the battlefield from the [Gaza] periphery to deep in Syria… and as far as it’s up to me, we’ll go even further to the source and the source is Iran,” Bennett says.

The defense chief also asserts “no one is tying my hands” in regards to Gaza and says he’s ultimately responsible for the security situation in the south.