Israeli Politician Slams Netanyahu, Faces Backlash

Ofer Winter, chairman of the Am Israel party, launched a harsh verbal attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, setting conditions for his potential participation in a future government. Winter declared his party's intention to avoid further elections and stated, "If not, then Bibi can jump for me, and I don't work for any man. We came to do what we demand to be done for the people of Israel, and if not, we are not a part. This government is a problem for Israel."

The Likud party quickly responded, drawing parallels between Winter and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, warning of a potential split in right-wing votes. Netanyahu himself joined the criticism, recalling Bennett's promises to align with the right, only to form a government with the Islamist party Ra'am. Netanyahu also alleged that senior figures in Winter's party support a Palestinian state and suggested that positive media coverage of Winter stems from a desire to shift right-wing votes to the left. He urged voters, "When it comes to Israel's fate, you don't gamble. You vote Likud," adding, "If it walks like Bennett and talks like Bennett, it's Bennett."

The Am Israel party refrained from directly addressing the comparison to Bennett, instead focusing their criticism on the current government's perceived failures. They highlighted issues such as the failure to decisively defeat enemies, the lack of voluntary immigration, the non-integration of Haredim into the IDF, and the prevalence of protection rackets and illegal weapons. The party concluded by stating, "Whoever is not satisfied, there is only one new party on the right that is coming to change the existing situation."