Netanyahu gaffe on Gaza disengagement causes uproar

Zionist Union official Facebook page: "The worse Bibi does in the polls, the more he lies."

By GIDEON GOREN
JPost Interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The Zionist Union on Sunday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an interview he did with The Jerusalem Post last week in which he confused the historical reality of the Gaza Strip.
In the interview with Post political correspondent Gil Hoffman, Netanyahu said had voters cast their ballots for Likud in 2006 it could have prevented the withdrawal from Gaza. Nationalist camp voters “paved the way for the left” in 2006, the prime minister said when “we [Likud] didn’t get the support and, of course, Kadima formed the government and went [through with] the withdrawal from Gaza with such horrible consequences for Israel’s security.”
However, the withdrawal, actually happened in the summer of 2005 and was initiated by a Likud-led government in which Netanyahu was finance minister. Moreover, Netanyahu voted for the withdrawal three times, before eventually resigning to protest it. Ariel Sharon’s Kadima party was not formed until November of 2005, ahead of the 2006 elections.
The Zionist Union wrote on its official Facebook page that “the worse Bibi does in the polls, the more he lies.”
A negative ad featuring the Post interview that was released Sunday night by the Zionist Union plays the clip and then says “Bibi, maybe you should stop lying already.”
Also, in a radio interview last week, Netanyahu called Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid a “natural partner” for a right-wing coalition when he intended to say Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman.
Weariness following a long election campaign was evident over the last few days as other politicians made erroneous comments in various interviews.
Among these were Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Ayelet Shaked mistakenly calling upon people to cast ballots for the Likud in an interview with the Kol Barama radio station before immediately correcting herself.
Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog said in an interview with Channel 2 Saturday night that he would keep “Netanyahu United,” intending to say Jerusalem when asked about the future of the capital if negotiations with the Palestinians were to resume.