From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 9, 2025
Liberman says Netanyahu will face justice for putting politics over security
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will eventually face justice for placing political considerations over the needs of Israel’s security, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman declares, slamming the premier over his failure to conscript the ultra-Orthodox and his government’s provision of weapons to a Gaza militia opposed to Hamas.
Addressing reporters in the Knesset ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting, Liberman says that he was “amazed” to hear Netanyahu admit that he fired two senior security officials because “not because of their terrible failure on October 7, but because of the draft evasion law.”
Netanyahu was recently caught on tape telling a senior rabbi that he ousted former defense minister Yoav Gallant and former IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen Herzi Halevi to enable his coalition to advance a law exempting ultra-Orthodox men from military service.
“The prime minister prefers political and coalition considerations over security considerations,” Liberman charges, expressing the wish that Netanyahu would spend as much time dealing with crime and security issues as he does with “the draft evasion law.”
“When we establish a state commission of investigation, all those responsible for the October 7 massacre, with Netanyahu at the head, will eventually face justice. And the first law the next government passes will be a conscription law for everyone,” he says.
Turning to Gaza, Liberman calls Netanyahu’s decision to arm some Palestinians “the Oslo government model 2025.”
“Netanyahu is giving them guns. It’s only a matter of time before these weapons are turned against us,” he says, calling the policy “a direct continuation of the same concept of Netanyahu that brought us to October 7. Then Netanyahu pumped Qatari money into Hamas and now he is pumping weapons into gangs affiliated with ISIS.”
Liberman told the Kan public broadcaster last week that Netanyahu had unilaterally approved the transfer of weapons to the Abu Shabab clan, an armed gang or militia that is opposed to Hamas’s rule in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu later confirmed the report, saying the move helped save Israeli soldiers’ lives.
Asked about calls to investigate him for leaking the information about Abu Shabab, Liberman tells reporters that he “would be very happy for there to be an investigation and we will really look into all the leaks.”
“I would really expect Netanyahu to file a personal complaint against me on the subject, so in the cross-examination I would ask him some interesting questions, even fascinating questions about leaks and state secrets,” he says. He adds that he will provide further details about the issue this afternoon in the Knesset plenum.
Liberman also slams what he describes as “some of my friends in the opposition who are already building a bypass road for the Haredim and promising all sorts of things.” This is a likely reference to National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, who has been in contact with the ultra-Orthodox UTJ party in recent days.
The Times of Israel Community.