As Israel continues to fight a multi-front war, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a member of the security cabinet, laid out his positions on the conflict with Iran and sweeping changes to prison conditions in an interview with Kol Chai Radio’s main news program.

Addressing the Iranian front, Ben Gvir spoke forcefully about his objectives. “The regime in Iran is a Nazi regime that needs to be removed from the world. It must be overthrown and destabilized and stripped of all its capabilities. Thank God many of them have already been reduced, but we still have much more to do there, and with Hashem’s help we will do it.”

One of the central points of the interview was his push for legislation instituting the death penalty for terrorists, which he described as “the most important law in the history of the state.” According to Ben Gvir, the law would apply to terrorist murderers from Judea and Samaria without requiring approval from the attorney general or special military panels. Responding to past objections, including those raised by Rav Ovadia Yosef, the minister said: “The reasons for opposition in the past no longer exist today. All the security agencies—the Shin Bet, police, Mossad, and the IDF—have changed their position and support the law. They understand that it is a deterrent.”

He issued a direct appeal to chareidi political leaders: “I call on Rabbi Deri, Rabbi Gafni, and Rabbi Goldknopf—this is a historic opportunity. When a terrorist enters a room, he does not distinguish between chareidi and secular. This is morally, Torah-wise, and halachically correct. Someone who slit the throat of a Jewish child must face his punishment.” He added that the legislation would also apply to members of the Nukhba forces: “The sentence will be determined by this law, and they must meet their end.”

At the same time, Ben Gvir described what he called a transformation in the treatment of security prisoners, which he has personally reviewed during surprise inspections. “There is tremendous success. I enter the prisons and don’t hear even a chirp of a bird. It used to be an all-inclusive hotel here with shawarma, lamb meat, studies, and cosmetic treatments. That’s over. Today there is a minimal menu, there are no more pitas on Pesach—even on a regular day—and this Pesach they are eating matzah, and not too much. The Shin Bet tells me: ‘They are afraid to enter Ben Gvir’s prisons.’”

Ben Gvir also rejected the claim that terrorists are indifferent to their own lives. “That is a myth. I walk through the wings and see that they want life much more than people think. A female terrorist asked me why she doesn’t have perfume in prison—I told her she should have thought about that before she incited murder. When they know there is a death penalty, they will think a million times before going out to carry out an attack.”

On the issue of incitement, the minister made clear that enforcement would be uniform and uncompromising. “Anyone who incites the murder of Jews—whether he is acting on behalf of Iran and even if he is Jewish—must sit in prison. There is no difference. We have achieved governance and determination, and with Hashem’s help we saw the quietest Ramadan because we made it clear that the rules of the game have changed.”