Deri says home front ‘not prepared for next war’

Israel’s home front is “not prepared for the next war,” Interior Minister Aryeh Deri warned new Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Thursday, in comments that he apparently didn’t know were being caught on camera.

“There is a terrible failure here, we have no stocks, we have nothing,” said Deri. His statements were broadcast on Channel 2.

The interior minister, whose office is responsible for certain essential services during wartime, told Liberman he intended “to raise this in a big way” during Sunday’s cabinet meeting.

“They make demands of us… and there isn’t a penny… there is nothing. Everyone’s living in a state of ‘count on it’ until, heaven forbid, something happens here and then people will understand.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a debate about home front preparedness on Sunday. The National Security Council has recommended that the Interior Ministry take responsibility for local councils within the context of an “emergency economy.”

Deri told Liberman he was willing to take on the responsibility but would need a budget, Channel 2 said.

Diplomatic sources told Channel 2 that Israel’s war in Gaza two years ago proved that the home front was prepared. Military sources claimed, meanwhile, that the the NSC’s idea of transferring responsibilities to the Interior Ministry was not currently on the agenda.