Ben Gvir: "David Zini told me I should receive the Israel Prize"
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir claimed that Shin Bet chief David Zini praised his reforms in the prison system. According to the minister, his hardline policy has dismantled the concept that "it pays to be a terrorist."
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir revealed this morning (Monday) in an interview with 103FM radio that the head of the Shin Bet, David Zini, told him he should receive the Israel Prize for his actions in the prisons.
"It is time for you to understand that what you are giggling about, the terrorists are wetting themselves over at night. This disregard for pitas and crocodiles is what we neglected during the 78 years of the state's existence," he said.
According to him, the situation in the prisons reached a point where terrorists played ping-pong with refrigerators full of meat nearby. "The whole concept was that it pays to be a terrorist. Itamar Ben Gvir came along, not as a general or an officer, and today there is no one, including the head of the Shin Bet, who does not come to me and say, 'You should receive the Israel Prize for what you did in the prisons'," he elaborated.
At the beginning of his remarks, Minister Ben Gvir explained why he opposed cooperation with a peace council in Gaza and discussed his political power. "Throughout the last year, I opposed what is happening in Gaza. The resolution must be through the encouragement of emigration, there is no cooperation with Hamas, there is no relying on foreign forces — one must look at reality," he said. According to him, Hamas is not disarming, it is only trying to rehabilitate itself.
"Under these circumstances, I told my colleagues: 'I do not understand how we can talk about a peace council — with Hamas, you only talk through the scope.' I say that this is a wrong step. In the upcoming elections, people will have an opportunity; if I have 12 or 15 mandates instead of 6, my power will be much greater," he added.
According to the Minister of National Security, he believes he has had a significant influence on the Prime Minister over the last two and a half years: "Things that he previously did not dare to do or perhaps dreamed of doing — he did. I do not know if it is because of Itamar Ben Gvir, but my presence in the cabinet and the fact that I lead a militant line does indeed do its part."
