From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 22, 2024
Liberman says not the time for elections as war drags on, but PM should quit
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"
Avigdor Liberman dismisses the Labor party’s planned motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring during his Yisrael Beytenu party’s weekly faction meeting that the country “needs unity” and that elections are divisive.
“This is not the time for Jewish wars,” he says, adding that it is “impractical” to hold elections during wartime.
There are still two hundred thousand reservists in uniform, he argues, asking “do we set up a ballot box in Khan Younis?”
If the right wants to stay in power the only way is to ditch the prime minister, “otherwise it doesn’t matter when elections are held — the right will enter the opposition,” he says, adding that if Netanyahu “had an ounce of conscience and was able to take responsibility, he would resign.”
“Any reasonable person would resign on their own after the October 7 failure.”
