Anti-Netanyahu Voices Rise in ‘israel’ as Knesset Prepares for Gov’t Swearing-in

Members of the 25th Knesset were told on Tuesday to prepare to vote on and swear in the next government on Thursday — barring any unseen delays.

Netanyahu has until Monday to swear in the government. If he is unable to smooth out the final kinks, it could be pushed off until early next week, Israeli media reported.

‘Gov’t of Madness’

Prime Minister Yair Lapid said policies being pushed by members of the incoming government “constitute a looting of democratic values.”

“We’ve seen governments being formed in Israel. What’s happening here is not a normal process,” he added as quoted by Israeli media.

“What we’re seeing is the weakest prime minister ever and a government of disorder. This is not a ‘full right’ government. This is a full-on government of madness.”

Lapid concluded: “We do not intend to sit quietly at a time when they are taking the state of Israel apart from within.”

“State of Israel is in Danger”

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 former senior Israeli Air Force personnel issued a letter to Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut and other top legal officials, warning against Netanyahu’s incoming right-wing and religious government.

“We were all ready to sacrifice our lives for the country throughout our years as combat pilots. Even after serving in the Air Force, we continued to take part in building the state to the best of our ability,” the 1,197 officials wrote in the letter cited by The Times of Israel.

“We come from all levels of society and the political spectrum… but what we all have in common today is the fear that the democratic state of Israel is in danger,” the letter stated.

Netanyahu “to Pay Any Price to Return to Power”

On the other hand, former Likud minister Dan Meridor described Netanyahu as a politician who “puts his own ambition for power and rule above all.”

“He is not a racist, but he is willing to cause damage to Israeli society in order to go back to the premiership,” The Times of Israeli quoted the former justice minister as saying.

Meridor said that today’s public discourse represents a “profound change in the values of Israeli society,” blaming Netanyahu for “normalizing the racist rhetoric and policies” of Otzma Yehudit leader MK Itamar Ben Gvir.

“For many years, politicians who made these kinds of statements were outside the consensus,” said the former minister.

“Netanyahu broke this pattern, because he wanted their votes and support — and now he is joining together with [Religious Zionism MK Bezalel] Smotrich,” Meridor added.

“Likud Partners Acting Like Little Kids’

For his part, Likud MK David Bitan slammed his party’s coalition partners in the incoming government for their behavior during coalition negotiations as well as comments they made in recent days.

“It’s not just that they’re not acting like adults — they’re acting like little kids,” said Bitan in an interview on Knesset TV, calling out by name MKs Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

Likud’s coalition partners — the Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, Shas and United Torah Judaism parties — have “exploited the fact that there is no alternative, and this is what happened,” stated Bitan, pointing to extreme demands made during negotiations.

Bitan, who was once Netanyahu’s fiercest defender in the press but has sparred with him more recently, said the Likud chief needs to take a firm stance as head of the incoming government.

“Netanyahu has to show that he’s the one in charge… if not, he’ll suffer through his entire term in office,” Bitan added.