MK Amichai Chikli (Yamina) was a guest at the Arutz Sheva studio on Tuesday and explained why it is possible that the current government, against which he is fighting, will serve its term.
"In general, after the budget, there is less drama and a stabilization of the system. The current government is built on the tremendous weakness of some key players who have no interest in leaving at the moment. If Mansour Abbas leaves the government without achievements after joining a partnership with Jewish parties, he will become history in the Arab sector," said Chikli.
"If Gideon Sa'ar and Naftali Bennett run in an election right now - they will finish below the electoral threshold with absolute certainty. That is why it is very worthwhile for them to keep the government together. Lapid has to wait until he takes over as Prime Minister because it would be a shame for him to give it up," he added.
The only person who might have an interest in getting out of the government is Benny Gantz, opined Chikli. He added that he does not believe in using terms such as “destruction” in the context of the current government, but finds many flaws in its conduct. "I agree that using terminology like 'destruction' or 'malicious government' is exaggerated and has nothing to do with reality. However, the term 'political adultery', which I used towards Bennett, has something to do with reality in my opinion."
"I do not remember conferences in the Knesset to which the fringe of the extreme left was invited. We heard yesterday that [leftist activist] Haim Shadmi is talking about taking up arms and fighting the settlers. We see, for the first time since the establishment of the state, a non-Zionist coalition. There is a critical mass in the government of a clearly non-Zionist force - such as Meretz, parts of the Labor Party and the Ra'am Party - which unfortunately is dangerous," he added.
The Knesset Member identified Ra'am not only as a troubling problem in the present, but as one that may become even stronger in the future. "The fact that Ra'am has gained relative control over the 30 billion shekels allocated to Arab society will give them a crazy boost and they will become the dominant force in Arab society in the future. With lip service and a show of patience, which I too thought in the past was authentic and it turned out I was wrong, they confuse us."
"Mansour Abbas is a very smart and sophisticated man. He is not a man who would come and call to break the bones of the Jews. But ideologically he is with the Muslim Brotherhood. For example, this week a Jew was murdered on his way to work, unarmed, with shocking barbarism. Can't he say one word that has empathy or compassion in it? I was wrong about Ra'am and there is no chance of a coalition partnership with Ra'am in the future. This is the Muslim Brotherhood in full. There is nothing moderate in this party," Chikli declared.
Even though he votes with the opposition, he said that his criticism of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not changed. "I do not take back a single word. All the criticism I had of Netanyahu has not changed. We did not reach the situation in the Negev out of nowhere, or the Palestinian takeover of Judea and Samaria in recent months. By the way, I have always valued him as a national leader who knew how to bring achievements in the diplomatic and economic axes. We are currently in the same camp together."
When asked why, if he does not agree with the Yamina party, he does not resign from it and the Knesset, Chikli replied, "In the first conversation between me and Bennett I understood that he wants me to resign if there is a tactical dispute between us. There was no talk of a clearance sale of all the values of the national camp. A Member of Knesset represents a seat and a public that puts the note 'Yamina' in the ballot box. If I had a disagreement about a particular move he is leading, you are right. But I cannot be required to be a partner to public deception."
"There is no chance that the public will forgive Naftali Bennett," Chikli declared. "In terms of values, he represents an unworthy act in the deepest sense of the word. We swore on every stage that such a government would not be formed. The ideological core promises of Yamina are grossly violated and nothing is left of them. When we said we were challenging the Likud that did nothing in the Negev - then the solution is the Electricity Law? If only we would have conditioned this on the normalization of the young settlement, but that was not done either."
In his estimation, Yair Lapid will not be Prime Minister. "He is a kind man but not fit to serve in that position," opined Chikli.
He said that he does not yet have clear plans for his political future. "I will try to bring as much power as I can to tip the scales in favor of the national camp and win the draw in the political arena and be a partner in the victory of the lovers of Israel and Zionism. It can be either in Religious Zionism, or the Likud or a new framework."