Israel has "just emerged from a third world war in the coronavirus," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday told Israel Hayom's Jacob Bardugo, two days before the March 23 general election.
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"We were the first to leave this pandemic behind; and I'm determined with the same level of obsession to lead Israel to economic victory as well," the prime minister said amid surging poll numbers for his Likud party and the right-wing bloc in general.
Long a target of the mainstream Israeli media, Netanyahu, when asked what journalists have against him, said: "You'll have to ask them. I'm the prime minister of everyone and I brought the vaccines for everyone. I brought peace agreements to the world. I don't know where [the animosity] comes from. It's a noisy chorus whose behavior I don't understand."
Speaking with Bardugo on Israel Hayom's new political podcast, the prime minister warned that voter apathy will lead to "a rotation government between [Yesh Atid Chairman Yair] Lapid and [New Hope Chairman Gideon] Sa'ar, who don't understand a thing about economics and [Yamina Chairman Naftali] Bennett, who wrote a pamphlet on the coronavirus while I was procuring vaccines and extracting the country from the crisis."
Q: Why did you decline a debate with Lapid?
"I'll show up only when he removes the mask of lies and admits to the people that he is running for the premiership. He refuses to admit to this. On Saturday (March 20) you got a glimpse of the degree to which Sa'ar and Bennett are in step, and that they will ultimately join Lapid and form a left-wing government with him. It's up to the voters to prevent a rotation government between Lapid, Sa'ar and Bennett."
Q: Is there a plan to wipe Bennett out? Are you not concerned about siphoning too many mandates from him?
"Bennett is transferring votes from the right to the left. You will get Bennett as a minister in a Lapid government if you vote for him. In the news studio on Saturday, he was hugging Sa'ar and saying they would be together in the coalition. Sa'ar says he won't be in a coalition with Netanyahu, so that means Bennett will ultimately go with Lapid. [Bennett] is incapable of saying he will join us in a right-wing government. A government with Lapid, Sa'ar and Bennett will be unstable and quickly fall apart, and we'll go back to elections. Vote for me and you'll have a stable, strong government and there won't be another election soon."
Discussing his relationship with Israel's greatest ally, the United States, and the administration of US President Joe Biden, Netanyahu said, "There's never been a prime minister who has fought the Americans like me; I'm the only one who can withstand these international pressures. Anyone who is not an international figure cannot do this."
Q: Will Biden pick up a phone and give Prime Minister Netanyahu a call?
"We spoke several weeks ago. We are personal friends. I speak with him in the same language I speak to every leader, a special language called 'straightforward.' I won't allow Iran to arm itself with a nuclear weapon… I'll do whatever is necessary [to prevent this from happening]. This is my mission."
Q: Is part of this media crusade also against the Mossad chief?
"Yossi Cohen is doing wonderful work, including the removal of the nuclear archive from the heart of Tehran and bringing it to Israel, from where we shared it with the world. Now they are trying to defame him to hurt me. This is part of an endless effort to also hurt my wife and children because they can't hurt a strong right-wing prime minister in a regular way. Most Israeli citizens don't buy it.
"Lapid, my main opponent for the premiership who won't admit it, said only five vaccines would arrive. He also said we need to uproot communities to reach peace, and this would lead to catastrophe. I secured peace for peace – without paying a price. There will be a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Mecca. I'm working on it. This is part of the global revolution we're implementing. It's a historic change; who is behind all of it?
"The systems have gotten out of whack. One of the foundations of democracy is the balance between the three branches [of government] and in Israel, it's a little out of balance. I always wanted to change this but couldn't because I didn't have a right-wing government of 61 mandates. In 2013, I wanted to do this but Bennett stopped me with his alliance with Lapid, which forced me to bring that failed finance minister into the government."
'I'm going to kick start the economy'
"I'm going to kick start Israel economically. I will give 750 shekels to every adult and 500 shekels to every child, along with grants for businesses and incentives to businesses to bring back their employees. The second thing is to dramatically decrease taxation on new and medium-sized businesses and to cease the value-added tax (VAT) for half a year. Additionally, mega-projects have gotten underway – fifth-generation (5G) technology, vaccine factories that will make Israel a global provider. We will never go back to lockdowns."
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