Ben-Gvir calls to dismantle Palestinian Authority on three-year anniversary of Oct. 7 Massacre

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank during his remarks at a Wednesday morning event marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Massacre.

The event was held at the Nitzanei Oz junction, a highway junction in central Israel where Highway 6 -- an Israeli north-south route --  intersects with Highway 57, an east-west route that goes through the West Bank. The intersection is adjacent to the West Bank Palestinian city of Tulkarm, a site of frequent IDF raids and terror threats. 

"Three years ago, on October 7th, the State of Israel was caught off guard," Ben-Gvir said. "We must not repeat that same mistake...I say this in the simplest and clearest terms: The [Palestinian] Authority must be dismantled. Their weapons must be confiscated. They must be disarmed. Authority officials must be arrested. We must not repeat the same mistake twice."

Eisenkot on joining October 7 government: 'I don't regret it for a moment'

Gadi Eisenkot, former IDF chief of staff and current leader of the Yashar party, marked the day by going to Kibbutz Re'im. He visited the bomb shelter where Aner Shapira, son of Yashar party candidate Shira Shapira, was killed. 

Eisenkot told KAN News on Wednesday morning that while he is ostensibly running against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the current elections and believes the prime minister should be replaced, he does not regret joining forces with Netanyahu in October 2023, along with Benny Gantz, to form an emergency government. 

"I saw only the State of Israel at that time," Eisenkot said. "Nothing political. [Only to] save the State of Israel, to bring about unity, and bring knowledge. And I don't regret it for a moment, because I remember how I found the Israeli leadership on October 11, 2023...helpless. Mine and Gantz's arrival was a huge boon."

"We stabilized the security situation," Eisenkot added, noting later in the interview that the current government's policies represent "a threat to our future in the State of Israel," three years on from the massacre.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the B’Yachad party, also went to Kibbutz Re'im, and was seen praying Shacharit (morning prayers) at the site of the Nova festival on Wednesday morning. 

Avigdor Liberman visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Nova festival site

Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman marked the day by visiting Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a Gaza border town where more than 100 civilians were murdered on October 7, and many others were kidnapped. 

"Here," Liberman said, "the full magnitude of mutual solidarity and courage was revealed -- people who rose that morning to save their neighbors and protect their families and homes. We must never forget their heroism, nor the victims who were murdered and those taken hostage."

Later, standing at the Kerem Shalom Crossing on the Gaza border, Liberman claimed that "the government responsible for the October 7th massacre continues to fund Hamas" by providing aid to Gaza through the border crossing.

"Hamas seizes control of every truck that enters the Strip. Hamas collects taxes from every merchant in Gaza," Liberman said, criticizing the Netanyahu-led government for allowing this to continue. "Where is the victory? Where is the decisive defeat of the enemy? All we see here is a return to the old failed concept, a return to a policy of containment."