MK Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit), chairman of the Knesset National Security Committee, on Wednesday escalated the attack against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and claimed that Netanyahu does not have the courage “to instruct the IDF to win”, as he put it.
Speaking on Reshet Bet radio, Foghel said that the members of his party "give up too much and don't take initiative. We tried to change the policy and we didn't succeed. We have reached our limits. We won't vote against the government, but we will not vote with it either. I believe we can change the policy."
Asked whether the crisis between the chairman of his party, Itamar Ben Gvir, and Netanyahu will lead to the toppling of the government, Foghel responded, "As of this moment, I will not do anything to topple the government, but I will not vote automatically with it.We are the ideological backbone of the coalition and we are unable to influence and promote the vision we came with - the Prime Minister is preventing us from doing so."
"An entire country is being held under threat here, we are captives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We continue not to take the steps that are supposed to lead to the deterrence and defeat of Hamas. Netanyahu does not have the courage to instruct the IDF to win," Foghel said.
The interview came after the Otzma Yehudit Party announced it had decided not to take part in Knesset votes scheduled for Wednesday, in protest of what it deemed the government's "weak response" to a spate of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.
The party announced that it will hold a special faction meeting in the city of Sderot, near the Gaza frontier, following "the weak response in Gaza last night."
MK Almog Cohen from the party said he will open a parliamentary office in Sderot.
"The weak response of the IDF certainly invites the next round [of fighting] that will continue to harm the lives of our children and the normal way of life of the residents of the Gaza frontier and the south as a whole," said Cohen.
Israel reportedly reached a ceasefire agreement with Gaza terrorists early Wednesday morning, following retaliatory IDF strikes on terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.
104 rockets were launched towards Israel from Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday morning, with a number of mortars also fired towards Israeli territory.
Two rockets struck the city of Sderot, leaving three foreign workers injured, including one in serious condition.