Bibi exposes 'secret plan,' Gantz and Liberman: 'you failed'
Gantz and Liberman respond to Netanyahu's video revealing an alleged 'secret plan', telling him he has failed to form a government
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFHeads of the Blue and White party, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid. Avigdor Liberman, Head of rightist Yisrael Beiteinu party. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the weekly cabinet meeting, December 2, 2018(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
In a Sunday tweet, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by saying that "the election campaign ended...you [Netanyahu] once again failed to form a government." Gantz suggested that "instead of wasting time with videos, give the mandate back to the president and let us form a liberal unity government that will take care of the citizens of Israel." Netanyahu released a video on his Twitter account on Sunday in which he claimed that Blue and White intends to form a government with the support of Arab-Israeli parties. "How will they be able to deal with Hezbollah, Iran and Hamas when they depend on them?" The video asks the viewer. The title of the video is "the secret plan of Gantz [Blue and White co-leader Yair] Lapid and [Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor] Liberman." In response to the video, Liberman wrote on his Facebook page: "Your attempts to point the blame in the direction of all those who disagree with you can't cover the fact that you have failed to form a government 3 times now. Instead, you've started your third election campaign, which proves you're intentions of dragging Israel into a 3rd election." he then added that Netanyahu is: "Sacrificing the vast majority of Israeli citizens for a minority of ultra-orthodox hustlers."Several days ago, Netanyahu claimed that it was Gantz who refused to form the unity government, and warned against one he will supposedly form with The Joint List.This theory says Gantz will form a coalition with fewer than 61 MKs, but the Joint List and possibly Yisrael Beytenu would support it from the outside, mostly by abstaining instead of voting against their proposals.The possible forms a minority government could take would be Blue and White and Labor with either Meretz equaling 44 seats, or with Yisrael Beytenu equaling 47 seats.The prime minister’s remarks came after Gantz said Netanyahu refuses to do what it takes to form a unity government. Netanyahu’s offers, including a plan on handling matters of religion and state and other policy points that he presented on Thursday, have not been to form a partnership but to make Blue and White a junior partner in a right-wing government, Gantz said.
“At best, this is spin – and at worst, it represents leadership that is not able to internalize the will of the people in the past election for change,” Gantz stated.“We find ourselves in a country held hostage with no functioning institutions,” he said, calling on Netanyahu to return his mandate to form a government early.
