Liberman slams government for not doing enough to strengthen Israel’s defenses against Iran

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman criticizes the government for not doing enough to strengthen Israel’s defenses against Iranian missiles and build additional shelters following last year’s war.

“Yesterday I read that the prime minister himself asked to postpone the attack on Iran because the State of Israel is not prepared,” Liberman tells reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, citing a state comptroller report that “more than 3 million people live without proper protection, and moreover – half a million students go to [school] without proper protection.”

“Since the war with [Iran] nothing has happened. How many protected spaces have we added since then? The defense establishment and the political establishment are making a big mistake. Instead of buying another squadron, we must establish a missile force,” he declares, calling on the defense establishment to “examine all their assessments – both in the short term and in the long term.”

“90 percent of modern warfare is in the framework of missiles. We have the best air force in the world, but it is not enough. We have seen the damage from Iranian missiles. Since the war, the Iranians have worked hard to increase their missile array,” he says.

Liberman also criticizes Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s contention that Israel should engage with Egypt as a partner in Gaza in order to prevent the entry of Qatar and Turkey, stating that Cairo has not done enough to prevent the entry of drones from the Sinai.