Bennett dismisses Netanyahu criticism, says he’s spreading ‘hysteria and chaos’

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett dismisses criticism by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu of his government’s COVID policies, quipping that “it’s nice to see that Netanyahu has stepped away from his personal issues and returned to spreading hysteria and chaos as usual.”

That is a reference to widespread reports about talks Netanyahu reportedly held over the past few weeks on a potential plea deal with prosecutors in his corruption trial that could have seen him step away from politics for years. Those talks reportedly broke down yesterday.

Bennett says that after Netanyahu, during his tenure as prime minister, imposed three lockdowns, had a million unemployed people under his watch and largely had kids study remotely, “the citizens of Israel are telling him, thanks but no thanks.”

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz tweets: “The [criminal] defendant who reopened IKEA stores before schools, the champion of lockdowns and firings, is lecturing us.”