Prime Minister Naftali Bennett insisted on Friday that his predecessor and opposition speaker Benjamin Netanyahu is unfit to hold the post of prime minister once again, but clarified that he refuses to sit in a future government led by the Likud leader. will not do.
Bennett, who gave several interviews to the Hebrew media, said he had not decided whether to run again. Instead he is focusing on preparing Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to replace him as interim prime minister according to their coalition agreement, he said.
Bennett and Lapid announced on Monday their decision to move legislation to dissolve the 24th Knesset after only a year in power because of their inability to hold together their narrow, yet politically diverse coalition.
Bennett’s decision to form a government with Lepid, the left-leaning Meretz faction and the Islamist Ram Party exposed him to criticism from his right-wing base, when he campaigned to avoid such partnerships.
He justified the move by saying that he had also promised to act to avoid a fifth consecutive election and that banding with various parties – whose main point was the desire to replace Netanyahu – was the only way for him to kick the country out. was the way. election cycle.
But the explanation doesn’t seem to convince many voters, and his party is currently voting between a minimum of four or five seats. Against that background, there has been speculation that Bennett will not run again or take a break from politics as many former prime ministers have done.
Asked where he stood on the matter, Bennett said he would not make his decision until Lapid replaced him as prime minister, which could happen as early as Monday if the Knesset Passes all four readings of the bill to dissolve itself.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced the collapse of their alliance in a joint appearance in the Knesset on June 20, 2022. (Yontan Sindel / Flash 90)
Bennett further claimed that his party’s position in the elections was not guiding his decision.
“I would ask myself only one thing: given the unprecedented rift in the country, will my entry into the elections help us unite,” he told Channel 12.
“I will ask myself over the next few days whether it is good for the state, is it necessary that I play a part. And if the answer is yes, then yes, and if no, it is not the end of the world.”
“A lot of people say, ‘You were a good prime minister, continue, continue, somehow continue,'” he said. “At home, less,” he said, laughing in recognition of the job’s toll on his family.
Pressed on his vision for the upcoming election if he decides to run, Bennett expressed his opposition to Netanyahu, but refused to rule out future collaborations with him.
“Netanyahu is not the right person” [to serve as prime minister], His behavior is the most divisive behavior I’ve seen in years,” Bennett argued, citing the “poison machine” that the Likud leader has veiled on his political opponents and insisting that it affected Israel’s politics. has been polluted with lies and deviousness.
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Tel Aviv magistrate’s court to hear his trial against former prime minister Ehud Olmert on June 12, 2022. (Avshalom Sasoni/Flash 90)
Nevertheless, the premier argued that Netanyahu should not be disqualified from serving as prime minister, in reference to the opposition to an 11th-hour attempt by his coalition partners to pass legislation barring MKs such as Netanyahu, who were considered serious. has been convicted of offences. , from serving as Prime Minister.
Bennett argued that the public should be able to decide who would be prime minister.
“I will not invalidate anyone. If everyone dismisses everyone, we will have no government, and we will have to go through four more elections,” he said, distinguishing himself from his other coalition partners – Left, Right and Center – who have supported Netanyahu. Refused to serve under And see him as a threat to the country.
While the election is almost a sure thing, the Coalition still needs to pass legislation to dissolve the Knesset for this to happen.
Several members of Bennett’s Yamina faction are trying to block the move by forming an alternative coalition within the current Knesset with the help of right-wing opposition parties.
The effort was always going to be a long shot, as those who refused to sit with Netanyahu remain a majority in the current parliament.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with then-Israeli Justice Minister Aylet Shek (L) during a vote in the Assembly Hall of the Parliament of Israel on December 21, 2016. (Yontan Sindel / Flash 90)
But Bennett’s No. 2 Aylette Shek, one of the Coalition’s most right-wing members, has reportedly been holding marathon calls with various party leaders from both the coalition and the opposition ever since Bennett made his decision. monday. Shaked was in Morocco at the time and had only returned to Israel on Thursday. She met with Bennett on Friday but no information was released about the content of their discussion.
However, both Cannes and Channel 12 told confidants that it had ceased all attempts to form an alternative alliance within the existing Knesset.
Both networks also stated that Shaked hopes to take over the Yamina party if Bennett decides not to run again, although some believe she will follow Bennett in taking a break from politics, as His party’s popularity has waned in the elections.
Regardless, Bennett might prefer to hand the reins over to Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana, who has been one of the premier’s most ardent supporters over the past year.
Left: Defense Minister Benny Gantz, on July 14, 2021; Right: Justice Minister Gideon Saar, on March 7, 2021. (Tomar Newberg/Flash90; Jonathan Sindel/Flash90)
As for the other parties in the coalition, Channel 12 reported Friday that Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party made an offer to Justice Minister Gideon Saar’s right-wing New Hope party to run on a joint slate in the upcoming election. While Blue and White has stagnated at about eight or nine seats in most elections, Saar’s party is barely crossing the electoral threshold. The network said the people behind the proposal believed a joint run would produce better results than running the two parties separately.
Separately on Friday, Likud MK Mickey Zohar said he would have no problem working as minister to far-right religious Zionism MK Itamar Ben Gwir if the Netanyahu-bloc manages to form a government.
Ben Gwir, a disciple of extremist Rabbi Mir Kanahe, managed to enter the Knesset for the first time last year due to a merger with the National Union party of Bezel Smotrich, formed by Netanyahu.