Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked responded on Sunday for the first time to the recordings of her criticizing Minister Yair Lapid and Minister Benny Gantz in closed talks last week.
"I do not intend to comment on recordings from closed conversations, certainly not when I am irritable. Recording someone in a closed conversation is a despicable and degrading thing. I spoke to Gantz and Lapid and this matter is behind us. I will not comment on the recordings because I will not give a reward to those who violate trust," Shaked said.
She added, "The average viewer should think about whether they would want to be recorded in a closed conversation with one of his friends or family. In that situation, I got up in the morning and there were briefings against me by some of the coalition leaders and that was my reaction in a closed conversation."
"Lapid is doing a good job as Foreign Minister, there have been achievements for the State of Israel in recent months. There were also compliments in the recordings for Lapid that you did not broadcast now," continued Shaked.
Asked if Lapid deserves to be Prime Minister, Shaked replied, "Absolutely yes. If the government works well and we can implement our ideology and maintain it. As long as the government functions well, it will fulfill its days. The challenge of approving the budget this week is critical to the State of Israel."
Shaked also responded to journalist Ayala Hasson's publication on Channel 13, which revealed that an organization run by the Ra’am party transfers money indirectly to the Palestinian Authority and allegedly also to Hamas.
"We investigated the issue, there is not a single shekel of state money that goes to this association in any way. The state transfers the budget to local authorities and offices, not to the association. The partnership with Ra’am is not simple, this government was formed because we were stuck in political mud and in endless election rounds. The State of Israel operates in complete freedom in the Gaza Strip and will not hesitate to operate there militarily if necessary."