Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin NetanyahuNoam Moskowitz/Knesset spokesperson

Former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader attacked the government's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the negotiations to restore the Iran nuclear deal in Vienna during the '40 signatures' debate in the Knesset Monday evening.

Netanyahu said: "These are sensitive days in the global arena and on days like this it is better except for statements on the global issue that is on the table, certainly when it comes to unnecessary statements. There will be much more to say on the subject but now is not the time. The absurdity is that the Israeli government chooses to speak precisely about this matter, but about another matter, which must really be talked about and must really be done, it is silent and it does nothing."

"Nothing - in the face of the rush for a nuclear agreement that will allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons against us, an agreement that will come in the near future. Bennett and Lapid say nothing and do nothing," Netanyahu said.

According to Netanyahu, Bennett and Lapid are not fighting for global public opinion and are not mobilizing the US Congress against the Iran deal. "They are bowing their heads to the United States. A few months ago Bennett said: 'We are not no-no bears. We will not oppose any agreement. We're not looking for a quarrel. A month and a half ago, Foreign Minister Lapid said: 'We have succeeded to some extent in making the world listen to us.'"

''Another such success and we will be lost. This 'success' has led the US to lift sanctions against Iran. It is absurd that the Israeli government is completely silent on this matter. Well, I am sure you see the expertise of this government at the international level. Lapid said just two weeks ago 'there will be no invasion of Ukraine'. Finance Liberman said, 'Aliens will invade Ukraine before Russian troops invade it.' Bennett and Lapid's silence in the face of the existential danger of a nuclear Iran is no less astonishing," Netanyahu said.

"Ben-Gurion said 'no' to America. Eshkol said 'no' to America. Begin said 'no' to America. The Prime Minister of Israel must know how to say 'no' when there is an existential issue, but Bennett and Lapid say 'yes' and bow their heads in the face of a dangerous agreement that gives Iran a lot of money to arm our enemies, increase terrorism against us and build an arsenal of nuclear bombs. Bennett and Lapid do nothing, nothing," Netanyahu concluded.