Itamar Ben-Gvir

All of Lebanon must burn.

Itamar Ben-Gvir (Hebrew: אִיתָמָר בֶּן גְּבִיר [itaˈmaʁ benˈgviʁ]; born 6 May 1976) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who has served as the minister of national security since 2022, except for a two-month gap in early 2025. He is the leader of Otzma Yehudit ("Jewish Power"), an Israeli far-right, Kahanist and anti-Arab party which won six seats in the 2022 legislative election and is part of the thirty-seventh government of Israel.

Quotes

• My right, my wife's, my children's, to roam the roads of Judea and Samaria are more important than the right of movement of the Arabs.
  • "US condemns Israeli minister Ben Gvir's 'inflammatory' Palestinian comments" BBC (August 25, 2023)

• To be clear, when we say that Hamas should be destroyed, it also means those who celebrate, those who support, and those who hand out candy — they’re all terrorists and they should all be destroyed.
  • "Genocide in Palestine? An Israeli Endgame in Gaza and Beyond" Middle East Council on Global Affairs (November 20, 2023)

• There is no such thing as a "Palestinian people"'
  • "Live Updates Ben-Gvir: No Such Thing as a Palestinian People, Will Not Accept a 'Terrorist State'" Haaretz (November 16, 2025)

• Israel cannot stop the demolition of houses in southern Lebanon. We simply cannot stop, that's all.
  • "Israel cannot stop home demolitions in southern Lebanon: Ben-Gvir" Anadolu Ajansı (June 17, 2026)

• For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep.
• All of Lebanon must burn.
  • Said after four Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon during Israeli attacks, quoted in "'All of Lebanon must burn,' Israeli minister says after IDF reports four soldiers killed" Euronews (June 19, 2026)