From the Liveblog of
Monday, May 5, 2025
Liberman slams PM on Gaza plans: Acting like WWII allies who didn’t prioritize rescuing Jews
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"
By prioritizing the destruction of Hamas above the rescue of the hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is acting like the allies in World War II who knew about the Nazi death camps but made rescuing the Jews a lower priority than military victory, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman charges.
Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Liberman asserts that “this is a war not for security, but for control,” adding that the government would “do anything” to maintain power, “even at the expense of the lives of hostages and soldiers.”
This is also the belief of most of the IDF general staff, he claims.
The government is “not capable of destroying Hamas,” Liberman continues, calling the return of the hostages a prerequisite for military victory and alleging that the government’s current strategy was motivated by “political calculations.”
During World War II, the allies decided to destroy the Nazis first and afterwards save the Jews, he says, accusing Netanyahu of doing the same thing today.
The Times of Israel Community.