Gideon Sa'ar
Gideon Sa'arYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Former Likud minister Gideon Sa'ar on Sunday criticized the Israeli government, accusing it of not properly dealing with illegal Palestinian Arabs who entered Israel and have actively been involved in the current wave of terrorism.

“The lack of serious treatment of illegal aliens, as we are already nine months into an intifada, is a failure," Sa'ar said in a conversation with the haredi website Behadrei Haredim, noting that the vast majority of attacks in the current terror wave were carried out by illegals.

“Even the attack in Netanya last Thursday was carried out by an illegal alien. 90 percent of the attacks were carried out inside Israel by illegal aliens. This is an amazing statistic,” said the former minister.

“We need to start a huge campaign to detect and remove tens of thousands of Palestinians who are illegally inside Israel. We must also finish the security fence as soon as possible in order to ensure effective control over incoming Palestinians,” added Sa'ar.

His comments mark the latest in a series of criticisms of the conduct of the Israeli government. Sa'ar unexpectedly announced he was leaving politicsbefore the last election, citing personal reasons. He later considered contending for the leadership of the Likud party, but ultimately announced he would not do so, but it has been widely speculated that he would return to politics eventually and perhaps form a new party.

Sa'ar in May sharply criticized government conduct during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in 2014 on Friday, saying it was a "failure for Israel." 

"I said these things in real time as a member of the government," Sa'ar tweeted.

Last week he blasted the reconciliation agreement with Turkey and criticized the fact that it included Israel paying compensation to the families of those Islamists who were killed by IDF officers on the Mavi Marmara.