Netanyahu attacks Yamina party’s leader. “Bennett is the scammer of the century”
The Israeli prime minister has sharply criticized the leader of the Yamina party for joining the left-wing parties in forming the cabinet, saying that Bennett is committing the scam of the century.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Bennett was misleading the Israelis after a speech by Yamina right-wing leader Naftali Bennett, who said Netanyahu had no choice but to form a coalition cabinet.
Netanyahu, who claims to be the leader of the right-wing parties, claimed that Bennett had been committing fraud for a century and that the leader of the right-wing Yamina party was only seeking to become prime minister.
Netanyahu reiterated his proposal to form a cabinet, according to which first Gideon Saar, the leader of the new Omid party, will become prime minister, then Netanyahu will become prime minister, and then Bennett will serve as prime minister. Earlier, Saar had rejected the formation of such a cabinet.
“Bennett has backtracked on all his commitments and moved to a left-wing cabinet to be the next prime minister,” Netanyahu said.
“Imagine what would happen in Iran, Gaza and Washington if a left-wing cabinet were formed,” Netanyahu said, claiming that the formation of a left-wing cabinet in the occupied territories was a threat to Israel.
“If a left-wing cabinet is formed, Israel’s deterrence will be damaged,” he said. “There should be no left-wing cabinet because it will be a failure and a surrender.”
Naftali Bennett said in a speech an hour ago that Netanyahu had no choice but to form a right-wing cabinet, and that Netanyahu’s remarks were completely false.
“The options are either to hold the fifth round of elections from April 2019 or to form a cabinet called the ‘Bloc of Change’, which includes Netanyahu’s opposition parties,” Bennett said in a speech.
The leader of the Yamina party announced that he was working with Yair Lapid, the leader of the Yash Atid party, to form a unity cabinet.
The Yamina party said in a statement on Sunday evening that it supported Bennett’s efforts to “prevent the fifth election” by accepting the formation of a coalition cabinet.
“Netanyahu has no cabinet, and that is a fact,” Bennett was quoted as saying by Channel 13. “Baby (Netanyahu) offered anything but the formation of a government.”
In an effort to prevent the formation of a coalition of dissidents, Netanyahu suggested that Gideon Saer, the leader of the new Omid party, form a tripartite cabinet, with Saar as prime minister for 18 months, followed by Netanyahu for two years and finally a two-year term. Naftali Bennett will be the leader of the Yamina party and will be in this position for only six months. Saar rejected the offer, saying there was no agreement and that they wanted to replace Netanyahu.
Lapid’s cabinet’s term ends Wednesday, and Bennett announced Saturday that if Likud fails to nominate a right-wing coalition with maximum support by tonight, they will join Netanyahu’s opposition parties to form a cabinet.
