Seven months after taking office as prime minister following the exploitation of the political crisis in Israel, Naftali Bennett gives a series of interviews to the written press in Israel and addresses the many issues at stake.
In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, Bennett referred to the harsh criticism leveled at him and referred to the political situation of the coalition he heads. According to Bennett: “During our seven months in office, we overcame difficult tests. But never resilience. I tell all my partners, we may fall back into the abyss. I want them to succeed. Elkin will market hundreds of thousands of apartments, Yair Lapid will renew diplomatic relations and open embassies, and Merav Michaeli “I will set up Metro. My mission is to give back and stability to everyone. I also support Yvette Lieberman, who is making unpopular but very correct moves.”
Asked where he was right and where he was wrong in managing the corona, Bennett replied that “the decision to close the sky immediately after the appearance of the omicron was very significant.” He said, “I was the first leader in the world to do this. The decision bought us almost a month. I decided not to impose closures, contrary to pressure from the Ministry of Health and contrary to the previous government’s policy. We identify an unusual phenomenon before the country where this phenomenon occurs. “The omicron. At that time, the virus was not there yet.”
As mentioned, Bennett referred to the criticism of him and said: “Seven months ago, when I decided to form this government, I knew I was going to be crushed like no one was crushed.” He added: “I did not know if I would be able to form the government, but I formed. It was the hardest and bravest decision I have ever made in my life. It takes greater courage than in the army. In the army you get fame. Contempt and curses. “
Bennett accused: “There is a machine here that produces poison and hatred, a well-oiled, skilled machine, impressive on a world level. With a radio channel and a TV channel, thousands of bots and groups that invent an absolute pike and run it on the net. All in the service of one person.”
In an interview with Maariv, he claimed on the subject of the corona that “Israel is managed in the best way in the world today. We do not run to the extreme extremes of ‘it’s just the flu’ nor to the automaton of my predecessors in a position that was ‘first of all closure on everyone’.
“I do not look back, it is he who is attacking me now. What Netanyahu is trying to do now is to spread chaos and hysteria and distrust as he did regarding the speed tests in that ticking video. Netanyahu built one of the most effective propaganda machines ever built. Inventing stories at a crazy pace. Do you know that I found out yesterday that my mother is Catholic? “
Bennett referred to his decision to form a government and is sure he saved the country: “If we did not succeed, the country would fall into the abyss. I do not want to think what would happen now if we went to a fifth election. I knew what would win for us “In the face of all the difficulties. A new national camp is emerging these days.”
He also said on the political issue that “this is a coalition with 8 parties. Do you know what such a multiplicity of opinions is in one government? I learn it on my own, but the business works. In the Knesset it is difficult, but the government is just excellent. We inherited an economy with minus 2% growth The economy is unprecedented, and we are already at 7% growth. We have reduced unemployment, we have insisted on not closing the economy. The Minister of Finance is doing the right thing, even when it is unpopular.
In an interview with Makor Rishon, Bennett said that if Netanyahu moves, he will try to expand the government. Asked whether he would try to form a right-wing government and separate from Abbas if Netanyahu moved, he replied that “in such a situation I will try to expand the government. We are now running a very effective, imperfect government. If we can expand, we will expand. As for Mansour Abbas, , Which recognizes the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. “
The interviewer, Hagai Segal, asked him in response whether the Abbas men had been blackmailing him in recent weeks. Bennett replied: “Nothing, no one is blackmailing anyone. Is it desirable to expand the government? Yes. And as soon as members of the Likud or another party decide to come, we will be happy for them to come.”
In an interview with Israel Today, Bennett was asked about the feeling that the country has given up in the fight against the corona virus: On the other hand, I am not in a hurry to press the trigger for closures, which was a key tool here last year. ” The prime minister alludes to the conduct of his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu. “The model is to maintain an economy alongside the omicron, with a lot of active activity and initiative.”
Bennett was asked if he was still right-wing and replied: “I am right-wing, and my positions have not changed. I continue to oppose a Palestinian state and stand by ours. On 70 percent of the things in government we agree – we need better education, and fight crime and build more houses.”
Interviewer Moria Kor made it difficult and claimed that the right-wing achievements versus the left-wing achievements in the government are poor. “They have been touched for 20 years; and when I come to count the achievements of the right, I am in trouble,” she asked.
Bennett defended himself, “No, just the opposite. I took office, and for years the government transferred cash to Hamas, in suitcases – I stopped. I renewed the flag parade, I just do not make noise. We also built in Judea and Samaria – my predecessor did not build during the Biden era. It is difficult. The matter of planting and the Bedouins is sharp – they came to me that night and said that there was a serious problem because there was no need to plant. I said: ‘Hold tomorrow. Bring in some policemen, and then I’m ready to talk to everyone. Arab crime is an issue that has been neglected for years. I have set up a team of ministers under my leadership, and we are embittering the lives of the leaders of Arab crime. We pursue them by creative means. But this is a unity government. This is true. This is not a one-sided government. “