Haim Ramon
Haim RamonOri Luntz, Flash 90

Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon is convinced that if former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resigns from politics, the current government will be no more.

Speaking to Galei Israel Radio, Ramon said, "I understand things simply as they are. The current negotiations for a plea bargain have failed. Each one has gone back to his original position. I assume [Attorney General Avichai] Mandelblit will say that he never compromised on bribery and Case 2000, and Netanyahu will say that he never agreed to admit to moral turpitude."

"The sigh of relief from [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett and [Foreign Minister Yair] Lapid (Yesh Atid) was heard throughout the Sharon region and Tel Aviv. So long as Benjamin Netanyahu is on the political playing field, that's one of the things supporting the government most, it's the government's glue. Netanyahu supports them by his very presence.

"The fact that news about his political disappearance for a certain period at least turned out to be nothing offers support for the government. We were able to see what happened if when the news of his disappearance from political life was at its peak. We saw cracks in the government."

Ramon emphasized that he supports Netanyahu signing a plea bargain, even if it includes public service.

"A plea bargain of the type offered Netanyahu - if I was advising him, I would tell him to go for it, even if it comes with half a year of prison that is swapped out for public service," he said.

"Netanyahu would do well to announce that he is retiring from leadership of the Likud. That undermines the government, regardless of whether there is a plea bargain or not. That is the correct thing for him to do politically, to take a break, to allow someone else from the Likud to be a candidate for prime minister. I am convinced that within three months the Bennett-Lapid government will disappear from the world."