Jewish Home says will stay in coalition, goes back on ultimatum to prime minister
In a major turn of events, Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett has said his party will remain in the government coalition, despite threats last week that he would leave if not given the Defense Minister position.
Photo by TPS on 19 November, 2018
During a press conference on Monday morning, the Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister heavily criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his defense policies, but said he would “stand by the prime minister’s side” in an attempt to fix Israel’s “deep security crisis.
“The ship of Israel’s security has sailed in the wrong direction,” he said. “Israel has stopped winning. We think that there is no answer to terror, to rockets and mortars. But there is an answer, we can get back to winning.”
He added that “the ball is in the Prime Minister’s court.
“Will we stop being startled by Hamas? Will we stop being afraid and dismantle Khan al Ahmar? The real test is now. The public is sick of words,” Bennett said. “If the Prime Minister is serious in his intentions, I am saying now, we will remove every political demand and we will stand here to help if it means that Israel win once again.”
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked added that “it was no secret that the Prime Minister didn’t want us to be a part of his government, despite the fact we are the natural partners in ideology.
“We were wrong,” she said, “We had to partner with Yair Lapid [Yesh Atid] to become a part of the coalition.”
Shaked added that the Jewish Home party sees politics as a tool to enact policy and serve the public. “We are public servants with responsibility. We will not run away from it. Naftali Bennett will make sure we win and our enemies will fear us again.”
Prior to the press conference, Netanyahu addressed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting by reiterating his stance following his speech on Sunday night.
“As I said last night, we are in a battle that has not yet ended. In such a sensitive period of security, it is irresponsible to topple the government,” he said. “Whether our partners decide to overthrow the government or not, we will continue to act to ensure the security of our country and the security of our citizens.
“We will do this with all reason, responsibility and determination,” Netanyahu added, saying that he trusts the IDF, the security forces, and the citizens of Israel.
“Together we can meet any challenge – and we will ensure the security of Israel,” the prime minister concluded.
The beginning of the end of the Israeli PM’s long reign.