Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin NetanyahuYonatan Sindel/Flash90

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a press conference this evening (Monday) at Ze'ev Citadel in Tel Aviv, criticizing the Americans who warned against his forming a government with Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Netanyahu said: "I would have expected them to warn us of a government that depends on the Muslim Brotherhood who support terrorism and Ahmed Tibi and Ayman Odeh. Odeh said that Nasrallah is a hero, after that is it any wonder that Lapid ran to sell him the gas of the citizens of Israel?"

Netanyahu was asked about the possibility that he would prefer Gantz over Smotrich and Ben-Gvir after the elections and replied: "That is an urban legend. Will I form a government with Gantz? I will form a government of 61,We saw what happened with a 'unity government.' The others also have no possibility of establishing another government.''

The former prime minister criticized the agreement between Israel and Lebanon on the maritime border, "Lapid surrendered to Hezbollah's threats. His surrender agreement is illegal and he will not bind us. For the past ten years I have refused to submit to Nasrallah's dictates. We destroyed his terror tunnels and did actions that I will not detail here. Within three months, after one threat from Nasrallah, Lapid surrendered in shame and gave Hezbollah everything Hezbollah demanded."

"We fought with Lapid to get the gas out of the water and he opposed us. Here he is taking the gas of Israel's citizens and giving it to Hezbollah and Nasrallah."

Netanyahu continued: "Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said today that Hezbollah received 100% and Israel received 0% and he is right. Lapid gave the cake and barely left us crumbs. Nasrallah receives Israeli sovereign territory and a gas field worth billions of dollars. He will not build with this money hospitals and kindergartens, he will use this money to arm himself with missiles and rockets against us. This is a shameful surrender under the threat of terrorism that will not bring us terrorism but a war under much more difficult conditions."

"If Lapid behaves like this against Hezbollah, it is not surprising to see how he behaves against Iran. It's scary. This agreement is illegal and does not bind the strong right-wing government that we will establish on November 1.

Netanyahu commented on the increase in interest rates and said, "More bad news for the citizens of Israel - a dramatic increase in interest rates to the highest level in 11 years. Every family will pay more for a mortgage. Only two years ago Israel was ranked as the 8th strongest power in the world. Lapid, Gantz and Abbas, with the support of Tibi and Odeh, were given the opportunity to continue marching Israel on this path of success, they failed."

"They degraded the economy, our personal security, the international standing of Israel, and they trampled on our national pride when the Prime Minister of the transitional government Lapid shamefully surrendered to Nasrallah's threat. Israel cannot afford to give them another chance. Enough, once was enough for us. On November 1, Israel will once again have a strong and experienced leadership.''

Netanyahu added that "with your help, citizens of Israel, we will establish a strong and stable right-wing government for four years - a government that will restore security, lower the cost of living, and restore the national pride we deserve."