Gantz, Arbel slam far-right MK who lumps Hamas, Hezbollah and High Court together; Ben Gvir backs him

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel tear into far-right Otzma Yehudit MK Zvika Fogel, who tweeted earlier today, “First we will destroy Hamas, after that, we will take care of Hezbollah; and for dessert, we’ll create order in the High Court of Justice.”

“The despicable and shameful comparisons drawn by MK Fogel and Carmi Gillon between the worst of our enemies and the gatekeepers of the State of Israel, and an entire public whose sons and daughters are fighting and risking their lives these days for the defense of the land, are a moral abomination,” says Gantz in a statement, lumping Fogel’s comments with recent ones made by former Shin Bet head Gillon who likened the Israeli religious right to Hamas.

“There is no place any longer in Israeli society for division, incitement and violent and contemptible discourse,” Gantz continues. “I call on both of them to retract their remarks and for the entire Israeli leadership to condemn them and demonstrate national responsibility.”

Arbel tweets that he is “saddened by the shameful words [uttered] by MK [Fogel]. There is no place for comparing and marking the Supreme Court in the same line as the worst of our enemies, who murdered, massacred, abused and kidnapped the good citizens of this country. Even when you want to criticize, this is not the way. We are one people.”

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the head of the Otzma Yehudit party, backs Fogel.

“Anyone who thinks there is a comparison between the High Court of Justice and Hamas in MK Fogel’s tweet has a problem with reading comprehension,” he tweets.

“Unlike the Supreme Court, which issued an outrageous and severely problematic verdict, we will not engage in reform while fighting. However, after the war we will return power to the legislative authority, we will stop the High Court from becoming a super-legislator and we will return the power to the people, who are sovereign,” he adds.