Minister of Education (Bayit Yehudi) Naftali Bennett on Monday, 26 Tammuz addressed a kenos marking a decade since the expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Shomron communities. “It’s not like the operation was a success but the patient died, the operation was a success because the patient died. From the point of view of the State of Israel international legitimization, security and development of Gaza were not the true goal. Instead of security we got rockets aimed at Ben-Gurion [Airport]. Instead of legitimization we got Goldstone and Shabbes and instead of Singapore in the Middle East we got Darfur”.

Bennett feels the expulsion was not the goal but the means to an end, explaining those who backed it also wish to see an expulsion from the Golan Heights. “Today we have ISIS which is splashing the waters of the Kinneret full of blood. There were many who marked the goal and drew the circle”.

Bennett spoke of the “left-wing elite” and his ongoing efforts to distance them from positions of influence. He questions why after the expulsion steps are not being taken to prevent the next expulsion, blaming the elite left-wing run press”.

“It was Yom Kippur for the elite leftists in Israel. The expulsion resulted in normative good citizens being expelled from their homes by the judicial system stopped the bus of protesters on their way to demonstrate as their voices were silenced…”

Bennett feels the dangers remain today, from the elitist left-wing politicians and the next expulsion. He feels the “glass ceiling in politics” must be smashed too, and “at the moment of truth the nationalist camp found itself alone on the roof”.

Bennett reminded his audience that Likud was part of the expulsion in the past and it is likely to do so again in the future. “It could happen again. The expulsion could occur again…”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)