Israeli Minister of National Infrastructures and Political-Security Cabinet member Yoav Galant (Kulanu) on Friday warned that in the next confrontation in the north, Israel will “take off the gloves,” Channel 1 News reported.
Galant, who spoke at an event in the town of Yokneam, near Haifa, vowed that Israel would “dismantle the triangle of evil – Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.” He added that last time, during the February 10 confrontation, “we were careful. Next time we’ll take off the gloves.”
“Anyone who’s asking how big is the power of the State of Israel can read into that experience,” the minister said, suggesting: “I think the Syrians understand that it’s not worth their while.”
Galant noted that “today the Iranians are using Syrian land, often against the will of the Syrians, in order to gain assets for themselves. The Iranians want to take over the Middle East, establish an Iranian army in Syria, open a front on the Golan Heights – Hezbollah 2 – and use Syria as a springboard to deliver into Lebanon weapons that violate the balance of power.”
The minister promised, “We will not allow any of these things. This is true politically, and you can see the efforts of the government, especially the Prime Minister, in this area.”
Galant said that in this period of relative calm, preparing for the next confrontation requires not only enhancing Israel’s power, but also denying the other side’s capabilities that would make it harder to beat them next time.
After all, he said, “Anyone preparing 100,000 rockets in Lebanon is not planning to use them to deliver flowers.”