The Knesset held a "40 signatures" debate - in which the prime minister is forced to address the Knesset, after the opposition gathers 40 signatures calling upon him to do so - initiated by the opposition against the government Monday evening following the publication of a report that the police had used the Pegasus software of the NSO group in order to spy on many public officials and private citizens in Israel.
Bennett took to the podium and attacked the opposition: "I want to understand - does it hurt you that we stopped the suitcases of cash for Hamas? Does it hurt you that we prevented sixth and seventh and eighth elections? Is that your vision? It hurt you that we opened the kashrut market to competition."
"The reason you are not in government - because you have not been able to form a government four times. Most Israeli citizens are shocked by your vision to go to another election," Bennett said. "Does it hurt you that we didn't crash the economy again after three crashes?"
"Look beyond the Knesset - people go to work, children go to school. We do not advocate a panic approach, and do not think it is the end of humanity as someone said," the prime minister told the opposition.
In his speech, Netanyahu addressed the police's alleged use of spy software against citizens, including witnesses in his trial and his son Avner.
"This is a black day for the State of Israel. Without addressing my issue, which of course has wide implications, I think this issue concerns all citizens of the country - not right, not left, all citizens of the country without exception," Netanyahu said.
"Something unthinkable has happened here. Police officials have illegally used the most aggressive tools in the world to spy on countless citizens - journalists, social activists from right and left, mayors, businessmen, politicians, their families - who was not" spied on, Netanyahu asked.
"The private lives of citizens were unveiled here. They followed them, listened to them, got into their most hidden secrets and who knows what improper use they made of this espionage. Spyware designed to thwart terrorism and fight our enemies has become an everyday tool used by police to spy on civilians in violation of any norm, in violation of any law.
To illustrate the seriousness of the matter, Netanyahu said that "this is similar to the IDF using the F-35 planes we use against Iran and Hezbollah and Hamas to bomb the citizens of Israel. There was no such thing and under no circumstances should it be on the agenda."
The Opposition leader called for the establishment of a commission of inquiry: ''There is only one way to deal with it. Not with maneuvers and excuses and not with all sorts of ways that would not be acceptable to all the occupants of this house. The way to do this is through a strong and independent inquiry, which will be acceptable to both sides of this house. Only in this way will we restore the public's trust in our country and in our democracy."
Netanyahu went on to attack the government and its leader: "Naftali, you asked, 'What hurts us?' It hurts us that within a few months you destroyed the tremendous achievements we brought to the citizens of Israel. Eight months ago, we transferred to you the first country in the world to exit from COVID safely. We were then ranked in the top five in the world successfully in dealing with the plague. There were almost 0 sick, 0 infected, 0 dead, and today the new booklet Bennett must copy is "How to Surrender to the Plague." That's exactly what you did."
"In recent months, almost 3,000 Israelis have died in Israel from the coronavirus. Unfortunately, most of them died for no reason because we have vaccines today. It is a completely different situation. We have vaccines, we have brought millions of vaccines, me and my colleagues here.
''A month before the election, there was no more lockdown, Naftali, there is no need for lockdowns when there are vaccines. But other things are needed. Limit crowds, enforce masks, intensify the third and fourth vaccination campaigns. With the third vaccines in particular a thousand people died because the third vaccine was waiting in containers in Europe even though he bought them in advance. You waited a month until you brought them in and a thousand people died for no reason.
''You did nothing and another 2,000 died. The hospital departments are overwhelmed. Records in critically ill patients, postponing surgeries, postponing life-saving treatments, and all when there are vaccines! What a failure," Netanyahu said.