Yisrael Beytenu Chairman MK Avigdor Liberman claimed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unsuccessfully attempted to appoint Yair Golan as IDF Chief of Staff.

Addressing the Prime Minister from the pulpit in the Knesset, Liberman claimed: "I saw how you took a ride on Yair Golan's nonsense, you didn't just take a ride, you celebrated, you shined with joy. It allows you to divert attention from the hostages, from a state inquiry commission, from the robbery and looting of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, as if we haven't learned anything, from the direct negotiations between the US and Iran, when they just don't care about us."

He added: "I remembered a few episodes from your not-too-distant past. You certainly remember the end of 2014, November-December, you fought (the Defense Minister) Bogie Yaalon over the appointment of Yair Golan as Chief of Staff. You can tell everyone stories, but not me. You said he was the ultimate candidate to be Chief of Staff, you went all out for Yair Golan, but to our luck, you failed."

Yair Golan, the current chairman of the Democrats party and the former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff, is seen as one of the most controversial figures on the Israeli left. His most recent controversy came when he claimed that Israel "kills babies as a hobby."