Bennett Says the Past Day Will Be Remembered as the Start of Normalizing the Dripping From Iran
Former prime minister and chairman of the Together party, Naftali Bennett, attacked the government and its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Monday), against the backdrop of the escalation with Iran. He said: "In the annals of the State of Israel, the past day will be remembered as the start of normalizing the dripping from Iran. This, like many other things in the country, we will have to fix, and we will fix it. The people of Israel deserve a prime minister who speaks to the public honestly, directly, and not over their heads. When I was your prime minister, I spoke with you even in difficult moments. Even when it was less pleasant, and I will do that now as well." "Here is the reality that must be said: the people of Israel here are capable of deciding, but this government is not," Bennett added. "Netanyahu is incapable of deciding on any front. Not in Gaza, not in Lebanon and not in Iran. Why? You cannot decide when your coalition paralyzes you. Netanyahu is incapable of deciding because, for example, we are short 20,000 soldiers and right now we are conquering and evacuating the same place three times, but you cannot draft healthy young haredi men when your future is in the hands of Deri, Gafni and Goldknopf." Bennett went on to detail the failures that, לדבריו, prevent a decision: "You cannot decide when your ministers carry out hasbara attacks every other day, and you cannot even reprimand them because you depend on them. You cannot decide when the government ministers who are supposed to deal with the home front and the drone problem are hopping from event to event for Likud Central Committee members. You cannot decide when, while our soldiers are risking their lives now on the front in Lebanon, the government is passing laws that divide Israel because of the demands of fanatical parties. And most importantly, you cannot decide when we are not together." "Friends, that is the truth. Now all of these things are solvable," Bennett concluded. "It is possible to unite the nation, it is possible to draft tens of thousands of haredim, if you are not enslaved to the haredi parties. It is possible to fix things when you are not dependent only on politics, and then it is possible to defeat the enemy and propel Israel forward." Last night, a series of frantic calls and discussions were held among the top Israeli and American leadership before Israel carried out a strike in Iran. During the marathon talks that senior officials in Jerusalem held with the political leadership in Washington, Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, who delivered a clear message about the nature of the expected response and told him: "Strike and close the matter." Israeli sources briefed on the contents of the call said the president meant that Israel should act, but "not attack in a way that would lead to war." The Americans understood that Israel was determined to respond, contrary to the public messages Trump had conveyed before the call with the prime minister. In response, Washington worked to define the scope of the damage and the extent of the Israeli operation. In parallel with this call, Netanyahu also held detailed conversations with several other senior American officials, including the U.S. secretary of state and the secretary of defense. In the call with Secretary Rubio, the sides went into highly significant details regarding the nature of the planned strike.
