‘Blue and White saved the country,’ Gantz says, predicts Netanyahu will lose elections

Benny Gantz opens his press conference by slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he caused the election, in a fiery appearance.

“Blue and White saved the country,” he claims, saying it committed an act of heroism for which it is now paying the electoral price. “We lay on the fence; some would say, we jumped on the grenade.”

He predicts that Netanyahu will lose power in the March 2021 elections — Netanyahu’s “fingers will be prised” from the leadership of Israel, he says. Blue and White’s “great achievement” will be “the ending of Netanyahu’s political path.”

“There was not one minute in this government when Netanyahu viewed us as partners or acted for the country’s benefit,” he charges. “Only the good of the country is guiding me, even if I pay a price.”

He justifies joining forces with Netanyahu earlier this year by saying the other options were more “dangerous.”

He casts his critics as “whiners.”

“While you tweeted, I safeguarded the justice system” and created a working mechanism to fight the coronavirus, thwarted “unnecessary lockdowns” and “saved democracy.”

Netanyahu, Gantz says, chose to break his word at the expense of Israeli citizens.