Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz was interviewed by Channel 13 News on Friday and spoke about the recording that was made public of his former strategic adviser, Yisrael Bachar, who claimed that Gantz "does not have the courage to attack Iran."
Earlier on Friday, Gantz decided to immediately end Bachar's involvement in his campaign.
"The story was cooked up. Bachar was tricked. The recording sounds inauthentic and edited to me. I am currently staying focused on winning the elections - we will investigate later and take care of what needs to be taken care of,” said Gantz.
The Blue and White chairman blamed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for leaking the recording, saying that "this is how the mafia conducts itself. The Prime Minister should act as the leader of a state and not as the head of a rogue group that makes such moves." Gantz also explained that he believed Bachar's weakness was exploited, adding, “It is a pity he went down that path."
Gantz also expressed support for MK Omer Yankelevitch who was quoted by Bachar as saying that Gantz is "stupid and completely incompetent."
“She denied saying those things and I am moving forward,” said Gantz.
"Yisrael Bachar knows where Iran is on the map, but he doesn't understand anything about security considerations, he doesn't understand anything about operations," Gantz continued, stressing, "In March of 2011, I outlined to the Israeli government, headed by Binyamin Netanyahu, the ability of the IDF to attack in Iran - they decided not to attack."
The Blue and White chairman also addressed the Harpaz affair involving MK Gabi Ashkenazi, a senior member of his party, and said, "There was a very serious atmosphere in the IDF and the Ministry of Defense, this is an old case that has been thrown out and investigated – at the end of the day, we are working together and I trust him completely, he is doing a great job.”
Earlier on Friday, Army Radio published that Rabbi Guy Habura was the person who allegedly recorded Gantz's adviser. Rabbi Habura is reportedly close to Netanyahu's lawyer, Amit Haddad, who is among his students.
According to the report, Netanyahu visited Rabbi Habura’s yeshiva several days ago, and the visit was coordinated by Haddad.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)