Israel Matzav

Dude!

Bennett chided the premier in an interview with Channel 2 asking, "Who is the prime minister of Israel - Netanyahu or [Paletinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas?" 

...

Netanyahu canceled a meeting on Sunday with the rebellious Bayit Yehudi leader to protest behavior that Netanyahu's associates called "childish."

 

Sources close to Netanyahu responded by daring Bennett to quit. They accused him of harming the country by unnecessarily flexing his muscles in an effort to obtain positive headlines.
 

"After Bennett insisted on Israel freeing murderers rather than freezing construction, we are waiting to see what his daily threat will be," a source close to Netanyahu said. "He needs to be reminded that he is not being kept in the government by force.

 

A Likud source went further in attacking Bennett, saying that had he not threatened Netanyahu, first privately then publicly, a deal would have been reached and Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard would have been on his way to Jerusalem in time for the Passover Seder. But a source close to Netanyahu said that charge was inaccurate, because there were other problems with the sides involved in making the deal with Israel.

 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman told Yediot Aharonot Sunday that Bennett should not be burning bridges or initiating elections. Liberman coordinated his attack with Netanyahu.
 

"Whoever wants to quit should quit, not threaten," he said. "I doubt Bennett will carry out his threat. I see a big gap between his declarations and his actions. His threats don't move us."

...

The fiercest attack on Bennett Sunday came from Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who said Bennett represented the extremist youths who attacked IDF soldiers in the West Bank community of Yitzhar.

“There are those in the government who aren’t interested in peace and would prevent us from having a diplomatic process,” she told Ynet. “Surrendering to Bennett is a victory for Yitzhar over Zionism.”

Bennett responded that Livni had “brought shame to the State of Israel” by how she handled the negotiations with the Palestinians. His associates said Livni was “obsessively stuck to her seat in the government.”

The economy and trade minister said he had tried to work out a compromise with Netanyahu by which the Israeli Arab citizens released would renounce their citizenship and be exiled to the West Bank. But the prime minister said such steps were not feasible.

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, Palestinian terrorists

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:20 AM