Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan criticized newly elected Labor Party chairman Avi Gabbay, who said in his victory speech that the policy he will implement will also take care of Dimona and not just Amona, in contrast to what he claims the current government does.
Dimona is in the Negev whilie Amona was a town in Samaria.
"I heard Gabbay say 'either Amona or Dimona,' so with all due respect, we think that the State of Israel is great and strong enough to provide assistance both to both Dimona and Amona," replied Ben-Dahan.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that "Gabbay's discourse of separation between the residents of Judea and Samaria and the residents of the rest of Israel is an inappropriate and bad one. This is not new politics but old politics."
In his speech, Gabbay, an avowed leftist who is also a multimillionaire, also said that he would show “a leadership capable of solving the saga surrounding cancer-stricken children at the Hadassah Hospital. A leadership which is simply capable of making decisions. That's what we need. Honest leadership, where your lawyer cannot represent a submarine company that negotiates with you (alluding to the accusations of unethical behavior on the part of Netanyahu's lawyer). He cannot. A leadership that works courageously for peace. No more leadership that deals with accusations against the Palestinians."