Benny Gantz, the chairman of the Blue and White party, responded on Wednesday evening at a conference in Petah Tikva to a State Comptroller report which was critical of the dire state of the public transportation in Israel.
The report found that lackluster planning is a cause for heavy congestion on roads and overcrowding on trains and buses and said that the situation is expected to get worse.
"We did not need a report to know there was a problem. We all stand in the long traffic jams, we all wait for the trains and we all lose time and fuel on the crowded roads. But the report makes it clear how there is no long-term vision here, how this is not a matter of fate, but of the omissions of officeholders," Gantz said.
He added, "I determine that Netanyahu will be busy rescuing himself from a trial and will not be rescuing us from the traffic jams. I, together with my colleagues in the government, will take responsibility for handling the infrastructures and the traffic jams. We will make a dramatic change in the transportation infrastructure in Israel."
Gantz also set goals in his remarks, saying, "Our goals are: to eliminate traffic jams, to reduce the cost of transportation in Israel, to reduce air pollution, to improve the economy based on improved transportation and speed of movement and driving times, to continue developing the traffic infrastructure from a long-term perspective."
He elaborated on the party's plan in the field of transportation, including the establishment of a transportation cabinet, the expansion of the railway network, education on road safety and the use and deployment of technology to change the transportation map in Israel.
"Binyamin Netanyahu is abusing his capacity as prime minister," the Blue and White chairman charged. "His remarks are dangerous - splitting and inciting. He incites right against left, Jews against non-Jews; he lashes out at the police and the judiciary. And all this he does as prime minister. In other words, as someone who is supposed to protect the police and the judicial system, as someone who is supposed to strengthen the institutions of the state, and not, heaven forbid, to harm them."
"This week we were informed that the hearing for Netanyahu will take place at the beginning of July. That means that if, God forbid, Netanyahu is elected, he will serve as a prime minister whose expiration date is fast approaching. Friends – one cannot lead a country and at the same time sit as an accused man in court. It's absurd, it's not good and it's also dangerous. It is impossible to be concerned about the security of the state when one defends himself against state witnesses. Being prime minister means leading with responsibility, with dedication, because it is the most influential position in Israel, and it demands unlimited trust. There can be no trust in a prime minister suspected of bribery, breach of trust and fraud. It is inconceivable that a prime minister who is suspected of public bribery will be entrusted with public assets," Gantz said.