Bennett: ‘I wanted to eliminate Hamas, Netanyahu wanted to eliminate me’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and former prime minister Naftali Bennett (right) attend the funeral of Rabbi Haim Drukman, at Merkaz Shapira, near Kiryat Malachi, on December 26, 2022. (Gil Cohen-Magen/ AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and former prime minister Naftali Bennett (right) attend the funeral of Rabbi Haim Drukman, at Merkaz Shapira, near Kiryat Malachi, on December 26, 2022. (Gil Cohen-Magen/ AFP)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to “eliminate me,” after former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen claimed in a radio interview the premier asked him to remove Bennett from cabinet during his time running the security service.

According to Cohen, Netanyahu cited Bennett’s apparent removal from his officer’s position in the military as cause to disqualify him from the cabinet — a request the then-Shin Bet chief said he refused.

In the comments cited by Hebrew media, Bennett denies that he was removed from his officer’s position.

“In 2014, as a member of the cabinet, I demanded that Netanyahu act offensively against Hamas in Gaza. Yoram Cohen revealed today Netanyahu’s lies and his paranoia about me,” Bennett is quoted as saying.

“I wanted to eliminate Hamas, Netanyahu wanted to eliminate me,” he adds.

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