Opposition leader MK Yitzhak Herzog on Wednesday evening called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to resign, claiming he had failed to provide security to Israeli citizens.
In response, officials in Netanyahu’s Likud party said Herzog was an embarrassment and should support the government at this time instead of taking shots at it.
"The region is on fire. Another wounded person in Petah Tikva. Security in Jerusalem is long gone and it is now clear that terrorism and vile hatred do not stop at the Chords Bridge," Herzog wrote on his Facebook page, in reference to the bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem.
"The responsibility for the security of Israeli citizens rests on the shoulders of one man - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He cannot control his kindergarten government, calm down the chatter of his ministers and take the steps of a leader, and so he failed in his job and he must draw conclusions as soon as possible and resign," Herzog charged.
Likud officials quoted by the Ma’ariv newspaper fired back at Herzog, saying, "Buji degrades the role of head of the opposition."
"Instead of showing responsibility and standing alongside the government in the determined struggle led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu against Palestinian terrorism and incitement, Buji prefers to engage in cheap politics and make a pathetic attempt to gather some votes," the officials continued. "Those who do not contribute anything would do best to stop babbling."
Netanyahu has come under fire from the opposition for his handling of the recent wave of terrorism. Herzog recently dismissed the Cabinet’s approval of new measures that would impose harsher punishments on rock throwers as “too little, too late”.
Another opposition member who has been a vocal critic of Netanyahu has been Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman, who has continuously said the government is not doing enough to combat terror.
On Tuesday night, following a violent demonstration by Israeli Arabs in the city of Yafo (Jaffa) in which several police officers were wounded, Liberman again called on the government to “come to its senses”.