Political analyst Amit Segal revealed new behind-the-scenes details regarding the formation of the previous government in his column for Israel Hayom on Thursday evening.
According to the report, the phone call received by Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas - in which he was pressured to form a government with Benjamin Netanyahu rather than with Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid - originated from a senior official within the Hamas terrorist organization.
"The call came from Qatar, but not from a Qatari. A senior Hamas official was on the line," Segal wrote. He noted that the terror group assessed that Netanyahu would continue a policy of calm and quiet understandings, "whereas a new government might be dragged into a military operation in the Gaza Strip."
This revelation follows comments made by Abbas earlier this week in an interview with Channel 12 News, where he admitted: "People from here who have connections abroad encouraged me to continue trying to form a government with Netanyahu and not with the other side."
Naftali Bennett responded to the report: "Amit Segal has now revealed that the Hamas terrorist organization, which murdered and raped our sons and daughters, worked to ensure Netanyahu would be Prime Minister."
He added: "Netanyahu must stand before the people of Israel this evening and provide answers: Why did Hamas want him, specifically, to be Prime Minister instead of Bennett? Netanyahu must look into the eyes of the families of those murdered on October 7th, the hostages, and the wounded, and explain why the terror organization that massacred us wanted him in power. Amit Segal’s revelation proves one thing clearly: Netanyahu is good for Hamas."