An official from the Prime Minister's Office blasted Opposition Leader Likud MK Benjamin Netanyahu for a piece he wrote criticizing the government's Iran policy that appeared in Israel Hayom Wednesday.
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"Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks on the subject of the Iranian nuclear program are unbelievable, even by his standards. He was prime minister for 12 years until a month ago, and his neglect is what allowed Iran to reach the most advanced point it has ever been in its nuclear program," the official said.
"When it comes to results – this is a serious failure. He knows it and is trying to throw the responsibility on others. He preferred to give speeches with Bristol boards and put on PR shows instead of promoting vital operations.
"His speeches were aimed mainly at the Israeli public as election propaganda and served only to create enemies and distance supporters. Never has the discrepancy between rhetoric and action been so great. That is the inheritance Bennett received, and he will navigate from here and rectify [the situation] with all the tools at his disposal," the official said.
A Likud official retorted: "Three years ago, before he stole the votes of the Right, Bennett said that 'for years, they mocked and discounted his consistent policy on Iran. Our children's and our grandchildren's future is safer today than it was yesterday, and I think it would be fitting today for those mocking and criticizing Netanyahu on Iran to tell him "thank you very much." Bennett also knows if it wasn't for the bold steps taken by Netanyahu, both on the operational level and in global public opinion, Iran would have had an arsenal of atomic bombs for use against Israel a long time ago."
The Likud representative said that "instead of lying and whining, Bennett would be wise to cancel the 'no surprises' policy de facto Prime Minister Yair Lapid committed to with the US, and begin an extensive public relations campaign [to enlist ] American public opinion against the US return to the dangerous nuclear deal."
Freedom of action harmed
In his Israel Hayom piece, Netanyahu wrote that there was "not enough space here to detail the vast scope of actions we took against the Iranian nuclear program."
He continued that "I also publicly stated that we would continue doing anything necessary to ensure Israel's security – with or without a nuclear deal between the US and Iran. Yet, within a week of this government's formation, prime minister in actuality Yair Lapid discarded this policy wholesale. He dealt a mortal blow to Israel's freedom of action when he stunningly promised the Americans 'no surprises.'
"I ask: What will happen if and when the US returns to the nuclear deal – does anyone think the US will agree to Israeli military actions that could endanger this deal? And when Lapid and Bennett inform the US in advance of a planned military operation and Washington objects, does anyone really believe that Lapid, Bennett, or their friends will greenlight such an operation regardless?
"We endeavored for years to sway American public opinion and persuade important leaders in the US to oppose the Iranian nuclear program and to impose paralyzing sanctions on Iran," he said.
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