Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman tore into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Facebook post he put online Wednesday morning, wondering if the prime minister might be "an agent of unknown, wealthy forces from various places around the world?"
"Recently, I have seen a jump in the slander, twists, and nasty takes against me personally and against my family and my close associates, coming out of the Balfour St. factory," Lieberman wrote, referring to the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem.
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"Even though, since the start of the election campaign for the 22nd Knesset, I made it clear that Yisrael Beytenu would support a unity government only and despite the fact that I personally behaved in a responsible manner, time and again associates of the prime minister repeat different versions of an 'explanation' of why I didn't join the haredi-messianic government under Netanyahu's leadership.
"For anyone who missed it, this is their 'explanation': that Lieberman has been extorted by the police and the prosecution and is afraid of being investigated and has turned into a puppet of the legal system," Lieberman wrote.
"The prime minister and his associates should know – I have been through plenty of investigations and I was never afraid. I never hid behind immunity, and I paid for all my legal representation out of my own pocket and never asked friends to take out bank loans [to cover legal fees]. If I were afraid of something or wanted to placate someone, I wouldn't have said – clearly and from the start – that as far as I'm concerned, the prime minister can continue to serve until there is a clear ruling, indictments notwithstanding. That is the law in Israel, which was passed in 2001, and which I voted against. But despite everything, I believe that we have to honor laws even when we don't like them.
"If I wanted to attack or harm Mr. Prime Minister where he is most vulnerable, I would remind him of what he said in 2008 about another prime minister, Ehud Olmert – that he was up to his neck in investigations, and had no public or moral mandate to make such fateful decisions for Israel," Lieberman continued in his post.
The Yisrael Beytenu leader went on to say that there was concern, which he called "not baseless," that Netanyahu would "make decisions based on personal interests of political survival rather than the interests of the nation."
Lieberman also said he would support a bill authored by the Blue and White party that would bar any MK under indictment from being charged with assembling a government coalition, and support the establishment of an interim Knesset committee that would vote to take immunity off the table for Netanyahu.
"Mr. Prime Minister, it seems that due to your age, your memory is faulty, and you've forgotten that I supported the president's compromise framework that would give you, not [Blue and White leader] Benny Gantz the right to serve first as prime minister [in a unity government]. If I behaved like you do, I would not hesitate to join Blue and White in a unity government. The difference between us is that I have principles and you just have interests," Lieberman wrote.
Lieberman went on to object to various accusations that he was an operative being handled by foreign authorities or an "agent of chaos."
"Mr. Prime Minister, maybe you are an agent of anonymous, wealthy forces from various places around the world? Maybe you are an agent of [billionaire] James Packer? Maybe you are an agent of Spencer Partridge? Maybe you serve the financial interests of Nathan Milikowsky? The difference between us is that for me, the end never justified the means and I never traded principles for seats at the table. So look in the mirror," Lieberman wrote.
