Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hit back at Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Sunday after the former gave a threatening speech a day earlier in which he criticized the Islamist Ra'am party for being part of the coalition and threatened a regional war if the Al-Aqsa compound was "violated."
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"It seems to me that it is already quite clear at this stage that Hamas does not like this government," Bennett said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. "They must be missing the suitcases full of dollars, and maybe they just do not like the possibility of us all working together to better the living conditions of Arab Israeli citizens.
"This is the time that the masks come off and it is clear to everyone who wants what. That Hamas wants to overthrow our government, says it all. And in that, too, Sinwar must not be allowed to win."
Bennet also took a swipe at former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for having allowed millions of dollars of Qatari cash to flow into the Gaza Strip. He severely criticized the policy of the Netanyahu government that allowed millions of dollars to flow into the strip in order to maintain a ceasefire with Hamas.
On Saturday, Sinwar accused Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas of the "unforgivable crime" of sitting in the Israeli government.
"For an Arab to say that this is a Jewish state is the height of degeneracy. You get a few achievements for Arab society, in exchange for the violation of Al-Aqsa?" Sinwar said.
Abbas, for his part, hit back at the Hamas leader in an interview Saturday.
"We don't owe anything to Yahya Sinwar or anyone else. We are what is good for the Arab community and Palestinian nation," Abbas told Channel 12 News. "We believe that the process we are leading inside the State of Israel, of partnership, of tolerant dialogue, will also advance comprehensive peace between the people of Israel and the Palestinian people."
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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