'Iran Is Trying to Put a Noose Around Israel's Neck': Strategic Minister Addresses Threats

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed concerns about his country’s national security Monday, saying Israel will defeat its enemies as it has in the past.

Netanyahu’s press statement came as Israel faces threats on multiple fronts like it hasn’t seen in years.

Just a week after President Joe Biden suggested Netanyahu would not be welcome at the White House for some time, the U.K.’s Sky News reports the prime minister will visit Washington before the end of April.

In his effort to bolster security and confidence Monday night, Netanyahu reinstated Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, whom he fired when Gallant publicly opposed the ruling coalition’s judicial reforms.

“There were disagreements between us, even severe disagreements on some issues, but I decided to leave the disagreements behind us, Gallant remains in his position, and we will continue to work together for the security of the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

Following rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria, Netanyahu emphasized Israel is pushing back.   

“I can't tell you everything we do, but we do a lot,” he explained. “In Syria we acted against Iranian targets and against targets of the Syrian regime. The Assad regime already knows that the price we took is only the beginning.”

Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer told CBN News that the attackers on every front are supported by the world’s top exporter of terrorism: Iran.

“Iran is essentially trying to put a noose around Israel's neck. You can add the Houthis (Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen) into that list as well. They want to surround Israel with a noose and squeeze and squeeze and squeeze. And you know, we're not going to go gently into that good night.”

Dermer insisted Israel has not finished taking measures against the attackers.

“We're going to stand and defend ourselves against Iran and its proxies. And that's what we did a couple days ago, and the Prime Minister said that the response was going to be serious, and I don't think the response just ended. I think it's a constant effort to make sure that Iran does not entrench itself in Syria, that Iran is not building sophisticated weaponry in Lebanon, and that we are fighting all the time against Iran and its proxies.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that after attending a security briefing Sunday with Netanyahu, he left more worried than when he went in. Lapid has also played a role in protests against the government’s judicial reform proposals. 

We asked Dermer if Israel’s external enemies sensed weakness in Israel because of the months’-long demonstrations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Dermer responded that if Israel’s enemies do sense weakness, “They're dead wrong. Israel has a citizen's army and Israel, you can count on the people of Israel that they're going to put these disagreements aside and when they are threatened, when the lives of their families are threatened.”

He added, “We're not fighting wars thousands of miles away in foreign countries, we're fighting to protect our homeland, to protect our families.”

The Netanyahu government has also contended with an outburst of Palestinian terror attacks, including the murder of three members of the Dee family from Kfar Etzion south of Jerusalem.

Lucy Dee, the mother of two daughters – Maia and Rina – who were shot to death in their car in the northern Jordan Valley, succumbed from her wounds Monday.

The prime minister opened his remarks to the press Monday by saying, “May God avenge their blood.”

An Italian tourist also was shot to death on the Tel Aviv Promenade last weekend and 7 others were injured there when the terrorist later plowed into a crowd of pedestrians with his vehicle.

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