MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin (Zionist Union) on Sunday accused the Netanyahu government of undermining the international legitimacy of the so-called “settlement blocs”.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington, Nahmias-Verbin said she is not surprised that the Trump administration is in no hurry to move the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“Those who thought the White House would radically change its position were delusional. The White House policy must be balanced,” she said.
“When we talk about the anti-Israel bias of the UN Human Rights Council, this is one kind of a problem...when we talk about the question of building in the settlements, mainly in places where there is still no international legitimacy and we are slowly eroding the international legitimacy of the settlement blocs – that is a different kind of problem,” added Nahmias-Verbin.
As for the delay in moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, she said that like any other Israeli, she would like to see the embassy moved to the capital of Israel, but “I am not surprised that this is not happening.”
“Anyone who expected the administration to act according to what the Israelis wanted was wrong. There is a better personal relationship between the Prime Minister and the President, and I welcome this. At the same time it should be remembered that the greatest financial support for Israel came from the Obama administration.”
As for the crisis in the coalition and the Prime Minister's attempt to dismantle the new public broadcasting corporation, Nahmias-Verbin said, "From the point of view of the opposition, it's great that [Netanyahu and Kahlon] are fighting amongst themselves. As an Israeli and a non-cynical politician, I want a government that knows how to run things and I do not see that.”
"I hope that [Zionist Union leader] Herzog will be able to put together an alternative government. Herzog is one of the most talented people when it comes to human relations who have ever been in Israeli politics. I want Prime Minister Netanyahu to be concerned about what the Israelis are worried about, and not about the broadcasting corporation that the Prime Minister himself set up,” she continued, adding that Netanyahu should focus on matters that are more important.
"If the Prime Minister were to consult with me, I would tell him 'leave that stuff alone.' With all my criticism of him, I think he's a more serious person than that and I think he's coming out of this saga looking like a little man. That's a shame.”