Labor-Gesher Party leader Amir Peretz attacked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during Peretz's speech at the special Knesset meeting in memory of assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Peretz said, "Mr. Prime Minister, I can understand your complicated situation, which forces you to take defensive actions every day. Initially, you signed Likud faction members [to a loyalty oath], then built a bloc, and now you have appointed a new defense minister with the skill of a master builder rabbi. You should start to realize that the time has come to consider leaving the house. There is no point in continuing to hold your loyal ones and the entire people in a state of uncertainty." Referring to biblical sanctuary and the address of the Prime Minister's Residence, he concluded, "Today, you are holding on to all power with all your might, and the people and the state are paying a dear price. And I appeal to you, Mr. Prime Minister: Do not grab the altar horns. Do not make Balfour a political Masada."