Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opening Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting, vowed to continue to respond to ceasefire violations in Gaza and Lebanon, while batting away accusations of Israeli over-deference to Washington.

The meeting — held hours before Israel killed Hezbollah’s number-two leader in a Beirut airstrike — also featured heated arguments over dairy reform and jabs against Turkey. Members of the government joined a protest outside the meeting demanding Israel annex the West Bank.

“We continue to strike terrorism on several fronts,” Netanyahu said at the discussion’s start. “This weekend, the IDF struck in Lebanon, and we will continue to do whatever is necessary to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its capacity to threaten us.”

Netanyahu added that Israel was pursuing a similar strategy in the Gaza Strip: “Since the ceasefire, Hamas has not stopped violating it, and we are acting accordingly,” he said.

Israel carried out airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday after a Palestinian gunman opened fire on Israeli troops in the Strip’s south. According to Netanyahu’s office, five senior Hamas officials were killed in the strikes.

Netanyahu also pushed back on criticism that critical decisions on Gaza were going through Washington. “All the talk that ‘we must obtain approval’ from this or that party is simply a complete lie. We act without relying on anyone,” he said.

“Israel is responsible for its own security.”

After Netanyahu spoke, far-right ministers exchanged a yelling match over proposed dairy reform, according to quotes leaked to Hebrew........

© The Times of Israel