Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement on Wednesday in which he said that he had lit a memorial candle in memory of all those murdered on October 7 by the monsters of Hamas.
"On this day, the nation unites in longing for our loved ones. We will complete the mission; we have settled, and will continue to settle, the score with all the murderers," Netanyahu added.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank during his remarks at a Wednesday morning event marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Massacre.
The event was held at the Nitzanei Oz junction, a highway junction in central Israel where Highway 6 – an Israeli north-south route – intersects with Highway 57, an east-west route that goes through the West Bank. The intersection is adjacent to the West Bank Palestinian city of Tulkarm, a site of frequent IDF raids and terror threats.
"Three years ago, on October 7th, the State of Israel was caught off guard," Ben-Gvir said. "We must not repeat that same mistake...I say this in the simplest and clearest terms: The [Palestinian] Authority must be dismantled. Their weapons must be confiscated. They must be disarmed. Authority officials must be arrested. We must not repeat the same mistake twice."
Eisenkot on joining October 7 government: 'I don't regret it for a moment'
Gadi Eisenkot, former IDF chief of staff and current leader of the Yashar party, marked the day by going to Kibbutz Re'im. He visited the bomb shelter where Aner Shapira, son of Yashar party candidate Shira Shapira, was killed.
Eisenkot told KAN News on Wednesday morning that while he is ostensibly running against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the current elections and believes the prime minister should be replaced, he does not regret joining forces with Netanyahu in October 2023, along with Benny Gantz, to form an emergency government.
"I saw only the State of Israel at that time," Eisenkot said. "Nothing political. [Only to] save the State of Israel, to bring about unity, and bring knowledge. And I don't regret it for a moment, because I remember how I found the Israeli leadership on October 11, 2023...helpless. Mine and Gantz's arrival was a huge boon."
"We stabilized the security situation," Eisenkot added, noting later in the interview that the current government's policies represent "a threat to our future in the State of Israel," three years on from the massacre.
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the B’Yachad party, also went to Kibbutz Re'im, and was seen praying Shacharit (morning prayers) at the site of the Nova festival on Wednesday morning.
Later, while visiting the bomb shelters at Kibbutz Alumim, Bennett issued a short statement promising to improve the state of the nation in the future.
""On October 7, we discovered that we are a nation of lions," Bennett said. "From here, I promise to all the families that we will do everything to build a country that will be worthy of their sacrifice."
Avigdor Liberman visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Nova festival site
Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman marked the day by visiting Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a Gaza border town where more than 100 civilians were murdered on October 7, and many others were kidnapped.
"Here," Liberman said, "the full magnitude of mutual solidarity and courage was revealed – people who rose that morning to save their neighbors and protect their families and homes. We must never forget their heroism, nor the victims who were murdered and those taken hostage."
Later, standing at the Kerem Shalom Crossing on the Gaza border, Liberman claimed that "the government responsible for the October 7th massacre continues to fund Hamas" by providing aid to Gaza through the border crossing.
"Hamas seizes control of every truck that enters the Strip. Hamas collects taxes from every merchant in Gaza," Liberman said, criticizing the Netanyahu-led government for allowing this to continue. "Where is the victory? Where is the decisive defeat of the enemy? All we see here is a return to the old failed concept, a return to a policy of containment."
Callousness, malice, cynicism, contempt, and negligence
Democrats party chairman and former IDF deputy chief of staff Yair Golan posted a statement on social media in honor of the third anniversary of the October 7 Massacre, calling it a "disaster and horrific failure."
"Israeli residents were abandoned into the hands of a cruel enemy by their own government," Golan said, offering a harsh critique of the Netanyahu government. "They were abandoned with callousness, with malice, with chilling cynicism, with humiliating contempt, with neglect and criminal and horrific negligence."
"In exactly three weeks, we have a historic opportunity to put an end to this," Golan continued, referencing the upcoming October 27 Knesset elections. "On one small slip of paper, we will vote for hope, and for life."
Moti Leitner speaks about the importance of unity
“October 7th changed us, both as a nation and as individuals," chairman of Haredi Public, Moti Leitner said in a statement.
"That horrific day reminded us of something we had forgotten: we all share one fate. Haredim, secular Israelis, and religious Israelis alike. The responsibility for the future of our nation here in Israel belongs to all of us."
"Besides preserving the Jewish flame and ensuring a flourishing Torah world, we must also take responsibility for our security and help strengthen Israel’s security forces," he added.
"For those who were murdered on that day, and for our future, we will take responsibility and give real meaning to this shared destiny.”