Former prime minister Naftali Bennett revealed in a lecture to an Israeli audience part of his plans to secure 62 seats that would allow him to form a government.
"We need the liberal Zionist opposition to bring 62 seats," Bennett said in a recording aired on Channel 12.
He claimed that a right-wing ideological alternative that is not left must be presented, "Likud voters who live in the center vote right on security but not extreme right. Generally traditional. Until now, it was Netanyahu against someone from the left, and he always won. Because if you put Netanyahu against someone from the left for 20 seats, he says 'I will stay, not willing to vote for the left.'"
"This is where I come in," Bennett continued. "On right-wing positions, I am hawkish, but I am liberal. When you give them an alternative - someone who was a good prime minister, who is right-wing and will not establish a Palestinian state for us, then we want to help him. In a Bennett-versus-Netanyahu matchup, once that is the contest, we know how to win. The people want change, but do not put them in a dilemma of abandoning their ideology."
He attacked the government, saying it has reached a point where the United States issues it orders and runs the IDF. "We have reached a point where we are more or less a vassal state," Bennett continued. "Right now, they have established an American military base in Kiryat Gat. And from that base, they give orders to the IDF; that's how it works, really. An hour or two ago, President Trump announced to forget about any sovereignty, even in places where there is Israeli consensus. This government has managed to cause the most pro-Israel president in the country's history to deny even a centimeter of sovereignty."
"We have lost most of the Western world, we have lost the Democrats, we have lost half of the Republicans," Bennett added, "Basically everything rests on the goodwill of President Trump, who deserves all credit - thanks to him the hostages are home - but to base everything on a single ally is irresponsible."