Smotrich’s comments drew immediate condemnation from the opposition, with Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas asserting that “human life holds no value in his eyes”. MK Ayman Odeh, the chairman of Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction, also slammed Smotrich, declaring on X that “what the racists and Kahanists say is not important, what matters is what we will do.” “And we, the Arab citizens, together with the democratic Jews, will do everything, simply everything, to prevent Smotrich-Netanyahu-Ben Gvir from continuing to another term,” Odeh wrote.
Archiv: Naftali Bennett
Smotrich: Including Arab party in government ‘a thousand times’ worse than Oct. 7 failures
(May 5, 2026)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sparked an uproar on Tuesday when he asserted that former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s decision to include the Islamist Ra’am party in his 2021-2022 government was far worse than the governmental failures tied to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught — the worst attack on civilians in Israeli history, which saw some 1,200 people murdered and 251 taken hostage, and which led to a multi-front war in which some 900 others have been killed.
Smotrich’s comments drew immediate condemnation from the opposition, with Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas asserting that “human life holds no value in [his] eyes” and Bennett accusing the finance minister, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of “trying with all their might to make people forget the atrocities that occurred on their watch.”
MK Cassif: “Right has found its right-hand man”
When asked if a government could be formed “without the support of MKs Ahmad Tibi or Aida Touma-Sliman” from the Hadash-Ta’al faction, Bennett replied: “We have a large majority even without them.” This statement comes despite a series of recent polls indicating that the Zionist parties opposing Netanyahu are unlikely to secure a majority without the support of Hadash and the Arab parties. (…)
Following the unification, Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the new “Yashar” party, called this morning for a meeting of opposition leaders excluding Hadash and Islamist Ra’am, “in order to ensure victory through Zionist and statesmanlike votes without Arabs.” In his announcement, Eisenkot mentioned the leaders of the “Together” list, Bennett and Lapid, as well as Yisrael Beiteinu chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman and The Democrats leader Yair Golan.
Two former Israeli prime ministers join forces against Netanyahu in upcoming elections
(April 26, 2026)
Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid served as prime ministers in a rotation agreement as part of a coalition government they formed in 2021, ending 12 years of Netanyahu’s rule. Now they plan to merge their parties into single faction headed by Bennett, calling it a partnership between the center and the right.
Bennett said if elected, the new government on its first day would establish a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel that started the war, an issue that has dogged Netanyahu.
There have been calls in Israel for a public inquiry into the failures around the Oct. 7 attack, the deadliest on Israel in its history.
We are at war, therefore we are
For these three men — Lapid, Golan, and Bennett — no task is supposedly more urgent than replacing Netanyahu’s blood-soaked, Kahanist government, which has led the country to unprecedented depths. They understand how dangerous he is. They know the devastation another term would bring.
Yet the moment the smell of war fills the air, all these insights evaporate, replaced by automatic reverence to the Israeli war machine. It is as if the very idea that a war can be opposed simply does not exist within their cognitive framework.
Protesters in Tel Aviv, including opposition leaders, demand Oct. 7 state inquiry
(November 22, 2025)
The protest was organized for the second straight week by the October Council, which is made up of families who lost loved ones in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and are demanding a state probe.
In attendance was former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is considered the most credible challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Also at the protest were Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, and MKs Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan, all of whom lead centrist or left-wing parties opposed to Netanyahu.
‚In secret, through lies‘: Political contender Bennett slams PMO over Qatargate affair
„In secret, through lies, through a scheme – the closest advisors to the Prime Minister worked for the engine of Hamas. It‘s madness,“ Bennett, who registered a new political party last week, wrote.
„There are three things you need to understand and remember when talking about the Qatar affair, no matter how many spins they try to feed you,“ he added.
In Hebrew @naftalibennett acknowledges Israeli General Barak Hiram Hannibal’d 13 hostages, burning to death 12-year-old Liel Hatsroni, but in English he still claims “She was murdered just because she’s Jewish” by “Hamas monsters” so “Nobody should ask us to stop” genociding Gaza
US said to hold undisclosed talks with Gantz, Bennett over Saudi normalization
Lapid told the Americans he was vehemently opposed to allowing Saudi Arabia to carry out any nuclear enrichment on its soil.
The report said Gantz and Bennett were believed to have also highlighted the dangers of a regional nuclear race if the Saudis had their own program.
Israel‘s Lawmakers to Vote to Dissolve Knesset; Lapid to Become PM
The wording of the approved bill sets November 1 as the date elections will be held.
If the vote passes, Lapid will assume the position of prime minister on Thursday at midnight, replacing his coalition partner Naftali Bennett, who on Wednesday evening announced that he would not run in the upcoming election.
PM vows will not seek coalition with Joint Arab List, Netanyahu
Asked about the immediate aftermath of Silman‘s resignation, he said that „the first order of business was to stabilize the faction. I‘ve spoken with the party heads and this government is moving forward. The alternative is to return to the dark days of more election campaigns. Instead of fighting terrorism, fighting each other.“
Bennett further rejected the assertion that the current 60-60 situation in the Knesset has left his government paralyzed, saying that political paralysis „is measured in actions. Controversial laws are hard to pass, but we have no issue with regular legislation.“
Naftali Bennett’s Calculated Effort to Engage with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine—and Iran
(March 14, 2022)
Bennett, like Netanyahu, has been a fierce opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, which lifts sanctions on Iranian trade. The Biden Administration and its European allies want the deal, but, in the Moscow meeting with Bennett, Putin elaborated on a new roadblock to its signing. Sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and European powers mean that any third-party company or government entity that trades with Russia may itself be sanctioned. Putin now insists that Russia’s support for the final deal is contingent on its being able to trade freely with Iran—which the original deal allowed.
Israel‘s Bennett, Ukraine, and Putin‘s Rigged Game
Conspiracy theories aside, it’s still apparent that Israel and Russia have some common interests – something that is seemingly inconceivable – and these interests are opposed to those of the United States and Iran.
In recent days, Russia has imposed conditions on its consent to a new nuclear deal with Iran. It is demanding an American promise that the sanctions that Washington has imposed on Moscow won’t apply to Russian relations with Iran.
Oh, how the wheel turns
Bennett erst bei Putin, dann bei Scholz
(05.03.2022)
Israels Premier Bennett hat in Moskau mit Russlands Präsident Putin über die Lage in der Ukraine beraten. Noch am Abend will Bennett mit Kanzler Scholz sprechen.
Treffen von Olaf Scholz und Naftali Bennett: Israels strategische Zurückhaltung bei Russlands Krieg
(02.03.2022)
Kann Israel nach Putins Überfall auf die Ukraine vermitteln? Bei einem Besuch von Olaf Scholz ließ sich Ministerpräsident Naftali Bennett nicht in die Karten schauen – der Bundeskanzler hofft weiter auch auf Diplomatie.
‘Turned diplomacy into a religion’: Israel officials said to lash Biden on Iran deal
As reports swirl of an imminent new Iran nuclear deal, Israeli officials on Sunday lashed out at Washington, according to a TV report.
“The Biden administration has turned diplomacy into a religion, and the agreement the US will sign with Tehran is meaningless,” officials quoted by Channel 13 news said.
Pelosi Headed to Israel With Iran, Ukraine on the Agenda
(Feb. 14, 2022)
Pelosi will head the congressional delegation set to visit the Knesset on Wednesday, over two years since her last official visit to Jerusalem, with the Iran talks in Vienna sure to be on the agenda. She will be accompanied by key lawmakers related to foreign relations, appropriations and intelligence — including Reps. Adam Schiff, Ted Deutch, Barbara Lee, Bill Keating, Eric Swalwell, Ro Khanna and Andy Kim.
VIOLENCE TRIGGER: Israeli Police loses it, violently attacking protesters, inc. mothers & kids tonight outside the Prime Minister’s house! FOLLOW THE WHOLE THREAD: 1/ taking down a protester, 3 police officers hitting & hurting him in front of thousands.
Netanyahu: ‘A grave mistake’ if Israel updated US before striking Iranian sites
“I saw the report in the New York Times that Israel is updating the United States regarding its operations and plans vis-a-vis Iran. If this is true, this is a grave mistake,” Netanyahu said during a Knesset faction meeting of his Likud party.
According to the report Saturday, Israel spoke with the US ahead of an attack in June on a facility in Karaj used in the construction of centrifuges needed to enrich uranium.
Iran tops agenda as Israeli prime minister meets UAE leaders
Both sides have been eager to talk up trade and economic relations and to look for ways to collaborate on technology. But their new partnership has also been powered by shared worries about their regional neighbor and Israel’s arch enemy: Iran.
Israel and the Gulf Arab states were both dismayed by President Obama’s 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, which saw the United States lift crippling sanctions in return for an Iranian commitment to curb its nuclear program.
Bennett said to tell Merkel Israel wants to advance controversial submarine deal
An unnamed senior Israeli official told Hebrew media that while hosting Merkel for a private dinner at the end of her two-day visit to Israel, Bennett said that he had ordered a reexamination of the deal and that the defense establishment had concluded that the Dolphin-type submarines are necessary.
Bennett Makes Time Magazine‘s 2021 List as Islamist Coalition Partner Hails His ‚Courage‘
Abbas and Bennett agree on little ideologically. Abbas leads the United Arab List, a party that champions Palestinian self-determination, while Bennett comes from Israel’s right wing and has pledged that a Palestinian state will not arise on his watch. But they coalesced around the goal of removing Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, who they saw as divisive and corrupt.
Biden tells Israeli PM he‘ll try diplomacy first with Iran
(28.08.2021)
“We‘re putting diplomacy first and seeing where that takes us,” Biden said during an Oval Office meeting that was delayed by the suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. “But if diplomacy fails, we‘re ready to turn to other options.”
Bennett arrived at the White House aiming to dissuade Biden from returning to the Iran nuclear deal that was brokered during the Obama administration and later scrapped by President Donald Trump.
Bennett in Washington Ahead of First Meeting With President Biden
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during his first visit to Washington since taking office. Later, he is set to meet with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan before a meeting with President Joe Biden on Thursday.
Israel‘s Bennett seeks US ‚reset‘ in first White House visit
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett heads to Washington Tuesday for talks with US President Joe Biden, seeking to „reset“ relations with Israel‘s closest ally and reach common ground on arch-foe Iran.
Germany‘s Merkel Set for Three-day Israel Visit Just Weeks Before Stepping Down
She will hold talks with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on August 29, and meet with President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, among others, deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said on Friday.
Gantz Says Israel Is Prepared to Strike Iran, ‚Hope We Won‘t Get Dragged Into It‘
With tensions running high in the aftermath of the tanker attack off Oman, the defense minister says strikes in Lebanon were ‚warning shots‘