Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman attacked the incoming government during the weekly Yisrael Beytenu faction meeting Monday and accused Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu of selling out the country to the haredi parties.
"Last Wednesday we heard Moshe Gafni say that "Half of the people will serve in the army and half of the people will learn Torah", Gafni just forgot and added that the half of the people who serve in the army are also the half who pay taxes and the half who study in yeshiva benefit from those taxes. My main argument is directed at those who allow this crazy approach, and that is Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu often says that he is the son of a historian, and right now he is interested in his historical legacy. In my opinion, Netanyahu will go down in history as the one who led the State of Israel to the destruction of the third commonwealth. I am not exaggerating and this is not a metaphor," Liberman said.
He added, "When I look at the meaning of all the agreements that Netanyahu signed with his partners, I see that he is sacrificing the State of Israel on the altar of his personal attempt to escape from his legal troubles. That's all it means."
"The people of Israel have stopped being suckers, this reality that half of the people serve in the IDF and finance the other half will only lead us to the deepest rift in the history of the State of Israel. They are also [deepening] the rift with the Diaspora with their attempt to cancel the Law of Return and the Supreme Court's ruling by cancelling the recognition of conversions not performed under the Chief Rabbinate. This will create a rift with the Diaspora - with the USA most of all. Also on the diplomatic level, what awaits us is a political tsunami and this coalition will be unable to withstand it. Even in the economic field, all I saw happening was the destruction of the economy," claimed Liberman.
In his opinion, "It's clear to me that after he passes the Deri law, which by the way is a law that first of all helps Netanyahu get out of his mess. But it's clear that after he passes these laws, step two will be to get rid of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, and in order to get out of this, I also think he'll drag the state Israel into a security adventure to appeal to Gantz or myself - under the pretext of the problematic situation, to swoop in and save his government."
"I won't fall for it, I hope Gantz doesn't buy it either because a person who is willing to sacrifice the State of Israel and entangles us in a security adventure to get rid of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir must not be given legitimacy, he must not be prime minister for even one day," Liberman said.
The Likud responded: "The national instigator Avigdor Liberman continues to incite with lies. All citizens of Israel, including Netanyahu's critics, know that he steers the country responsibly without entering into unnecessary adventures. The proof that, according to IDF data, under Prime Minister Netanyahu Israel had the quietest security decade most in its history. If Liberman would have lower taxes and prices the way he lies, the citizens of Israel would have more money in their pockets."
