Netanyahu: To form government, we must end ‘personal boycotts’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a Likud faction meeting, appeals to political parties to end their “personal boycotts” and join his government.

Netanyahu says he’ll make “every effort” to remove Israel from the “cycle of elections” and establish a “strong government for all of Israel’s citizens.”

“This won’t be a government of paralysis, but rather a government of action,” says Netanyahu. “To do this, the government must be united, both in policy and action. And to create it, we must first end the personal boycotts.”

He says the establishment of a “strong and homogenous” coalition won’t be easy, but isn’t “impossible.”

“I see myself as the prime minister of everyone,” says Netanyahu, specifically pledging to help Israel’s Arab citizens.

He also says there’s an urgent need for the next government to sign contracts to purchase more vaccines. He also says his government, if formed, will focus on the economy, stopping Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and fighting the ICC war crimes probe into Israel.

Netanyahu also hints the Biden administration will come down hard on Israel’s policy on West Bank settlements.

“Prepare for other pressure against the settlements, and this too we will have to counter, together,” he says.

He says Israel will work to forge other peace treaties with Arab countries. “It’s real… it’s not an election slogan,” he says, adding that four more countries could normalize ties with the Jewish state in the not-too-distant future.