Former Defense Minister and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avidgor Liberman said Friday that his party would not support a right-wing government, condemning the Likud party for ruling out a unity government with the center-left Blue and White party.
“The cat is out of the bag,” Liberman said, after a Likud internal party memo was published by Israel Hayom Friday morning, telling party officials not to speak in favor of a unity government.
“Netanyahu…made the headlines this morning with his declaration that he will not form a unity government. The assumption is that he will be able to form a narrow Netanyahu-led government with the support of Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, Rabbi Peretz, Deri, and Litzman, who are pushing for a theocratic state,” Liberman continued, alluding to reports Thursday that Netanyahu has offered two ministries to the United Right, and a senior position to Otzma Yehudit candidate Itamar Ben-Gvir, if the United Right allies itself with Otzma Yehudit – and not the New Right.
Liberman recommended Netanyahu as premier to President Rivlin after the April 9th election, only to refuse to join a new Netanyahu-led government unless it agreed to pass his haredi draft bill.
Since then, the former Defense Minister has accused Netanyahu of allowing haredi and right-wing lawmakers to turn Israel into a theocratic state based on traditional Jewish law (Halacha), rather than civil law.
“On the 17th of September,” Liberman continued Friday, “every Israeli citizen will need to ask himself one question: What kind of state do I want to live in: A Jewish state, or a theocratic (halachic) state in which a crazy group of rabbis will impose religious coercion, will extort the government, and force upon us a way of life based on the rules set in the time of King David and King Saul? A narrow government would be a great misfortune, and we won’t enable it.”