From the Liveblog of
Monday, May 9, 2022
Netanyahu: ‘Weak, fraudulent’ government incapable of standing up to Iran, Hamas
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Opposition leader and Likud party chair Benjamin Netanyahu renews his party’s commitment to toppling the current government.
At Likud’s faction meeting, the former premier attacks the government as unable to stand up to security threats posed by Iran and Hamas.
“Iran is rushing to arm itself with nuclear weapons against Israel thanks to an international agreement promoted by the current American administration — and the Israeli government is not opening its mouth,” says Netanyahu.
“This weak and fraudulent government is incapable of standing even for a moment against the submissive policies of the American administration against Iran, just as it is incapable of fighting Hamas terrorism,” the Likud leader continues.
Netanyahu ties what he calls the current government’s failures to its cooperation with the Islamist Arab Ra’am party. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas — who is guided by the broader religious Islamic Movement to which his party belongs — is currently not voting with the coalition, as his party froze support in the wake of prolonged violence on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
“Bennett and Lapid depend on what comes out of the mouth of Mansour Abbas and his friends who are waiting for instructions from Hamas leaders and the Shura Council,” Netanyahu says.
The Times of Israel Community.