Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told the Knesset on Monday that the country’s military and other security services were undergoing their largest rearming in years.
Bennett’s comments came as the IDF was working intensively to prepare for a potential military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, amid growing concerns that ongoing talks between the world powers and Tehran in Vienna about curbing the latter’s nuclear program may result in an agreement that Israel deems unacceptable, or in no agreement whatsoever.
"We are investing in security rearmament of the IDF and the entire defense establishment. I would say this was rearmament that we haven’t seen for years. This rearmament is important to our survival, and I am very glad about it and am determined to see it through quickly," Bennett said, speaking to the parliament’s powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Bennett’s government increased the 2022 defense budget to nearly NIS 60 billion ($19.2 billion), a large chunk of which was to be earmarked for planning on military engagement with Iran, including billions to upgrade or procure vehicles, ordnance and more.
In a criticism of his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, Bennett claimed the military had been in a "tailspin" for years, which "severely damaged Israeli national security, in every dimension." Bennett was defense minister under Netanyahu in 2019 and 2020.
Bennett reiterated that Israel will not be party to a nuclear deal with Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites....and will do whatever it deems necessary to ensure the country’s security.
"In terms of the Vienna talks, the nuclear talks — we are indeed concerned. It is important for me to say and to clarify here in a way that can’t be misunderstood: Israel is not part of the agreements, Israel is not bound by what is written in the agreements if they are signed, and Israel will continue to ensure its full freedom of operation in any place and at any time, with no limitations," Bennett said.
The rest of the premier’s remarks were delivered behind closed doors.
This was Bennett’s first appearance as prime minister before the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, a parliamentary body meant to oversee the military, foreign policy and related issues.
In his remarks at the start of the meeting, Bennett told the committee that Iran was "at the top of our list of challenges."
"Iran is the head of the octopus that sends enemies and proxies and its tentacles at us, on all of our borders. We are dealing — day and light — with Iran and its proxies. We are making a change, moving to a mindset of constant attack and not just constant defense," he said.
Israel has been engaged in a long-simmering shadow war with Iran for years, mostly through regular
...
KABOOM!...
s on Iranian-linked targets in Syria and en route to Syria, as well as occasional attacks — both physical ones and cyber attacks — on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to foreign reports.
Israel has opposed a return to the 2015 deal, instead pushing for negotiators to revamp the accord with stricter restraints on Iran and to address malign activity in the region beyond the nuclear portfolio. Officials have threatened that Israel could take military action to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, even without the support of other nations.
PM said to expect escalation with Lebanon or Gaza, not seek Palestinian peace talks
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee this morning that Israel could have to face a military confrontation soon with
...a strong argument in favor of European colonialism, even French colonialism...or Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
, alongside plans to thwart Iran’s nuclear program.
According to the Ynet news site, during the part of today’s discussion that was closed to the media, Bennett also referred to Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s recent meetings with Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
The report says Bennett clarified that he isn’t planning to advance peace talks with the Paleostinians at this time, adding that Israel’s interest is to keep the stability in the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
He also reportedly said his government wants to prevent the Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, terror group from arming and to return two civilians and two bodies of IDF soldiers believed to be held in Gaza.