Silman: Trump Can Say What He Wants, Netanyahu Is Holding Firm

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman said on Tuesday morning in an interview on ynet that Israel is not a party to the emerging US-Iran deal and must act only according to its own interests. She said Israelis should know that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, together with the country’s security forces and IDF soldiers, will do “what is right for the State of Israel” and continue protecting civilians.

Silman argued that Israel has already achieved major gains against Iran. She said that before the assault on Iran, the main threats were ballistic missiles, nuclear weapons, enriched uranium, and the entire missile-production chain, and claimed those threats had been removed to a significant extent. Even if Iran still has some capabilities, she said, Israel has badly damaged its infrastructure and reduced its missile stockpile to a very small amount.

Rejecting claims that the deal would preserve Iran’s proxy network or limit Israeli action in Lebanon, Silman said there is no direct link between Iran and Lebanon and that Israel still operates in buffer zones under the post-October 7 security approach. Asked whether Israel can continue acting in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, she replied, “Israel not only can, Israel acts,” adding that if existential threats emerge or rockets are fired, Israel has acted there before. On reports that Donald Trump pressured Israel and called Netanyahu “a difficult man,” she said Trump can call and say whatever he wants, and added, “I am proud that he is standing up to the great pressures.”

Silman also backed the Knesset’s decision to grant immunity to Likud MK Tali Gottlieb, saying she deserves it and that the legislature was protecting her immunity for exactly that purpose. She avoided directly answering a hypothetical about whether she would support similar protection for an Arab lawmaker who exposed Shin Bet information. Near the end, she said she was not disappointed by anything involving Netanyahu, praised him for leading both Likud and the country to “very impressive achievements,” attacked the Bennett-Lapid government for weak governance, and said she expects to be in the next Knesset.