Tzahi Hanegbi
Tzahi HanegbiMiriam Alster/Flash 90

MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) said on Friday that he believes that Benjamin Netanyahu will act to thwart Iran’s nuclear program during his upcoming term in office.

Speaking to Channel 12 News, Hanegbi, who was placed in the #46 spot on the Likud slate and thus will not be in the 25th Knesset, said, “If there’s anything that could be critical in the next few months, it is the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.”

"We have already forgotten that there was a negotiation between Iran and world powers, which has in essence ended. If this negotiation does not end in an agreement and the US does not act independently, which is what I believe will happen, Prime Minister Netanyahu will work, in my estimation, to destroy the nuclear facilities in Iran," Hanegbi clarified. "If he does not do this, Israel will face an existential threat."

Asked to clarify if Israel, in a government headed by Netanyahu, will physically attack Iran’s nuclear facilities with bombs, he replied, “I believe it will have no choice. It’s a similar story to 1981 with [Menachem] Begin (who authorized the bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor -ed.) and 2007 with [Ehud] Olmert (who authorized an air strike against a suspected nuclear reactor in Syria -ed.).”

On the question of whether he heard this from Netanyahu himself or whether this is his own assessment, Hangebi replied, “I’m talking about an assessment, but from an acquaintance of over 35 years with Netanyahu, I’m basing my assessment on the fact that when there is no choice, someone has to take command, and that someone will be Netanyahu.”

(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)