Netanyahu
NetanyahuShulo Shalom/TPS

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the government on the Iranian issue at the weekly Likud faction meeting Monday.

"We are convening today for a faction meeting in memory of the sixth Prime Minister, the late Menachem Begin, who passed away 30 years ago. Begin was one of the greatest leaders to rise in the State of Israel. He was committed in every part of his soul to the righteousness of our path. I remember a phone call with him in 1982, after the massacre at Sabra and Shatila. I then served as Israel's delegate in Washington. Begin asked me to organize an information campaign to fend off the defamation that was directed against Israel at the time, following the massacre in Sabra and Shatila," Netanyahu began.

He said: "Begin opened the conversation like this: Mr. Netanyahu, the term 'blood libel' is probably familiar to you. I immediately understood his intention. Begin knew that my grandfather and father of blessed memory came out as a buffer against the plot aimed at right-wing elements in the country after Arlozorov's assassination. Political opponents falsely tried to pass the blame for the murder to the representatives of the Revisionist camp, Jabotinsky's associates, who were later acquitted. As in the murder of Arlozorov, so in Sabra and Shatila and so in countless other events, we were required to constantly fight for the truth."

"Begin did not shy away from this fight. For years, he was slammed, insulted, even called a 'murderer.' Today many of those people who attacked him unrestrained, remember his fondly. The problem, of course, is not with Begin, but with them. Our political rivals speak highly of 'democracy' as they trample on the soul of democracy - freedom of expression, the rights of the individual, and the right of the majority of the people to elect their leaders. Our opponents speak highly of 'statehood', while they override any norm of 'statehood' here in the Knesset and in other state institutions of the state," Netanyahu added.

He said, "Unlike the current government which does not stop lecturing us on 'democracy' and 'statehood' while shattering them arrogantly and boorishly, we know what a true democracy is - and Begin was a true democrat."

"We know how to appreciate Begin - also for his struggle for Israel's independence as the Irgun commander, for the restraint he showed in the Altalena affair to prevent a civil war, for his action to raise the stature of 'Second Israel', a concept we worked to remove from the world and which the current government is arrogantly trying to bring back, while disparaging the huge public of millions of citizens in the State of Israel and excluding them from the centers of influence of the state," Netanyahu added.

According to him, "in their impudence, the heads and ministers of this anti-democratic government, which deceived the citizens of Israel and made an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood, still call themselves 'successors' of Begin and Jabotinsky. What an absurdity. What hypocrisy."

Netanyahu drew a connection between Begin's memory and the Iranian issue. "We appreciate Begin for his natural connection to Israel's heritage, for the neighborhood rehabilitation project, and for the peace agreement with Egypt. It was the first peace that led to other agreements, including the four historic peace agreements we reached with Arab countries. Above all, these days we remember Begin for his bold decision to eliminate Iraq's nuclear capability, despite US opposition to the move. "It was an outgrowth of Jabotinsky's 'Iron Wall' theory that we implemented in countless operations against Iran and its nuclear program, which to this day have prevented it from acquiring nuclear weapons that it thought it would acquire many years ago."

He blamed that "today, in the Bennett-Lapid-Ganz government, there is only weakness, weakness, and more weakness. They bowed their heads before the US administration when they agreed to a 'zero surprises' policy. That is, Israel will not act against Iran's nuclear program without prior coordination with the Americans, who of course would oppose such actions. They could also jeopardize these plans through early leaks. In doing so, they silenced Israel's cry against an agreement that would pave the way for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons that aim to destroy us."

"Bennett, Lapid and Gantz are not ready for a confrontation - not even with our friends - as Begin did, and as we did in a speech to the US Congress in 2015, and in countless other public forums in Israel and around the world. Bennett, Lapid, and Gantz are doing nothing in the face of this dangerous agreement that is being formed right now in Vienna. It is with this, first of all, that the government must deal with now - to strongly oppose this dangerous agreement," said the opposition chairman.

"Israel's silence these days, apart from a few meaningless statements done out of obligation, takes the wind out of the sails of those of our friends in the US who oppose the agreement. If they do not see or hear Israel oppose it, why should they persist in their opposition? Why would they cancel the agreement later? Our stubborn opposition helped the US get out of the previous agreement even after it signed it. The current government's silence also undermines the legitimacy of our future action against Iran's nuclear facilities," he added.

"Begin said at the time: 'A big clock is standing above us, and it is ticking. The meaning of Iraq producing nuclear weapons is a danger to every man and woman in the State of Israel. Saddam Hussein will not hesitate to use weapons of mass destruction against us.' Replace the word 'Iraq' with 'Iran ',' Saddam Hussein' with 'Khamenei,' and you will understand what we are facing now. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's representative in the negotiations for the nuclear deal, said this week: 'The Iranians have received much more than they asked for. They fight like lions, for every word, for every comma. ' And what is happening to us? No one is fighting. The Iranians are fighting like lions - Bennett, Lapid and Gantz are surrendering like rabbits. The reality is bleak and clear: the current government is reconciling to a nuclear Iran and thus endangering the future of Israel."

"On this day when we remember Menachem Begin and his struggle for our existence, we say: This dangerous surrender government must end. We will act in every way to replace it with a government that fights upright and vigorously for the future of the State of Israel and the future of the people of Israel," Netanyahu concluded.