Bennett Accuses Netanyahu of Serving Personal Interests Over Israel’s Needs

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attacked Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday morning in an interview on Kan Reshet Bet’s "The Morning Show," criticizing his management of the war with Iran and the U.S.-brokered agreement signed by Washington. Bennett said Netanyahu’s personal interests had damaged Israel’s international standing, especially its ties with the United States and President Donald Trump, adding, "The current government is no longer able to advance Israel."

Bennett condemned Netanyahu’s remarks at a press conference the night before the deal was reached. He said Netanyahu was effectively telling Israelis, "As long as I am prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons," which, in Bennett’s words, implied that if Netanyahu were not in office, "Israel will be destroyed." Bennett argued that Iran’s nuclear program had not been dismantled, that its ballistic missile array and the factories producing them were still operating, albeit at smaller scale, and that Iran’s terror network was still intact. "There are achievements in the war, but the government has not met the three goals it defined," he said.

Bennett urged the public to "lift your head" and argued that a different leadership could still produce major results. He said the current government could not advance Israel in any area, but that progress was possible under leadership freed from "countless personal interests." He also said he would not have reached the current standoff with Washington, because he would have acted differently from the start and would not have spent political capital on matters unrelated to Israel’s national interest, citing Trump’s pressure on President Isaac Herzog to grant him a pardon as an example of something that was "not a national interest."

Bennett also blamed the government’s behavior abroad for part of the pressure on Trump, pointing to what he called the "disgraceful conduct" of ministers who stage childish provocations and whom Netanyahu cannot rein in. Looking ahead to elections, Bennett said he would do whatever was needed if Gadi Eisenkot were also considered to lead the anti-Netanyahu bloc, but argued the way to win was to put a former prime minister with right-wing views at the head of the "bloc of change." He said Israel had moved rightward and compared the situation to Hungary under Viktor Orban, arguing that repeated center-left candidates there failed for 16 years. Bennett added that Netanyahu knows he is the only one who can beat him, and said, "I know how to look Netanyahu in the eye and defeat him. I have done it, and I know how to do it again."