From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Netanyahu declares return of northern residents a ‘national goal’; Gantz: That’s a lie
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Visiting the Lebanese border following a briefing with the IDF’s Northern Command, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declares that the return of Israel’s displaced residents is a “national goal.”
“A few days ago, we thwarted a surprise attack by Hezbollah on the State of Israel. We destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, which were aimed at the Galilee and the Golan,” Netanyahu says in the wake of Sunday morning’s massive Hezbollah attack in which the terror group fired 230 rockets and 20 into Israel.
“We stopped all the drones aimed at the State of Israel, the Galilee, and the center,” he continues, touting the preemptive strike ahead of an anticipated attack on Tel Aviv as “a great success.”
However, “I am not telling you that it is enough,” he continues, adding that “this is not the end of the story.”
“When will it be the end of the story? Only when we can return the security and the residents to their homes safely. It’s not a statement, it’s not a slogan — it’s a national goal first and foremost. We are committed to achieving it — and we will achieve it, with your help and God’s help,” he says.
Nearly 70,000 residents of the north remain displaced following the outbreak of hostilities with Hezbollah in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Responding to Netanyahu, former war cabinet minister and National Unity chairman Benny Gantz asserts that the prime minister’s claim of prioritizing the return of the displaced “is a lie.”
“You did not agree to include it in the goals of the war, prevented a discussion on the diversion of resources to the north for many months, and above all — wasted time,” he tweets.
“Even now, you continue to be cut off from the residents, repeatedly coming to the north and not meeting them or the heads of their [local] authorities.”
