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Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized U.S. President Donald Trump as “extremely naive” about Iran, called for military action against Tehran and renewed demands for the occupation of Gaza and the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Ben-Gvir made the remarks at the National Security Conference organized jointly by the Yedioth Ahronot newspaper and Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, or INSS.
“More effort is needed. I hope U.S. President Donald Trump can be persuaded to abandon his naivety,” Ben-Gvir said. “He is a businessman and extremely naive when it comes to Iran.”
The leader of the Jewish Power party called for attacks against Iran, rejecting further diplomacy.
“There is no room for diplomacy with them, and there is nothing to discuss,” Ben-Gvir said. “Force must be used against the Iranians.”
His remarks came as he criticized Trump’s approach to Iran and argued that military action was necessary.
Ben-Gvir said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had done “good work” in what he described as Israel’s military campaign and occupation of the Gaza Strip.
“We control 63% of Gaza’s territory,” he said.
Calling on Israelis to support him in the next election, Ben-Gvir said: “We killed 40,000 people who supported Hamas, but that is not enough. We need to crush them and encourage migration,” referring to forcing Palestinians to leave Gaza.
He also called for Israel to occupy Gaza and establish settlements there.
“My dream is to have police neighborhoods, military neighborhoods and officers’ housing in Gaza,” Ben-Gvir said. “If we are not there, Hamas will be there. Civilians can also live there.”
More than 73,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed and about 174,000 injured in Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
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