Liberman pummels everyone in press conference

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman holds his first major press conference since the one last week where he dropped a political bombshell and announced he will not join Netanyahu’s coalition.

With guns blazing and a crafty smile, Liberman slams Netanyahu, the media and Likud officials.

He says “I have more friends among Likud ministers and activists than Netanyahu has.”

Liberman totally rejects accusations made by Likud officials and the media that he misled his voters.

“Those claims that Liberman misled his voters… during the entire election campaign I avoided committing to supporting Netanyahu. Our commitment was never personal, it was about basic issues, platform and principle,” Liberman said.

“I repeated this dozens of times during the campaign. Even during the 19^th Knesset there were many offers to change the coalition, dump Yesh Atid and bring in the ultra-Orthodox [parties]. I said – if you want new elections, hold new elections, but we wouldn’t change the coalition.”

Liberman explains his decision to recommend that President Reuven Rivlin appoint Netanyahu as prime minister: “After [election] results we were very clear. We recommended Netanyahu because it was a very clear vote. In every meeting with Likud we said – we want to be [in the coalition] but not at any price.

“A week before Likud signed an agreement with United Torah Judaism we sent our basic outlines in writing to Likud. After the agreement was signed and we saw the agreement with Shas was on its way, we made the decision not to join.”

Liberman then turns to Netanyahu.

“If anyone cheated voters, it is Netanyahu. There is no doubt he cheated voters from the former Soviet Union. All the things he said about helping to absorb new immigrants – there is no trace of that in any of the coalition agreements,” he says.

Having skewered Netanyahu and Likud, the former foreign minister turns to the media.

He accuses Israel Radio and Channel 1 reporters of lying as well as making racist comments against him. Special anger is reserved for Channel 1 political analyst Ayala Hasson. Liberman quotes Hasson as saying “from what I hear the Immigration Absoprtion Ministry will be conquered by a Likud person and there will be purges there.”

Hasson’s words, Liberman says, “slander an entire population that lives in the country and contributed to it.” He adds that he intends to file an official complaint with the director general of the Israel Broadcast Authority and demand an official apology.

Finally, the maverick party leader assures that “we will be an opposition but not team up with the left wing opposition; we will be an alternative from the right.”