PM distances himself from Likud ally’s dismissal of claim that some Israelis can’t afford food

As Shabbat ends, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds to his Likud party ally Minister Tzachi Hanegbi’s dismissal of claims that some Israelis don’t have enough money for food amid the economic crisis accompanying the coronavirus pandemic as “bullshit.”

A statement put out by Likud doesn’t name Hanegbi, who has since apologized for the comment.

“The prime minister regrets comments [that imply] the distress of the coronavirus isn’t real,” the statement says.

It adds: “Like everywhere in the world, the coronavirus has had a high cost in [terms of] life, health and livelihood. The distress is real and the prime minister is working around the clock to provide an answer to it.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Tzachi Hanegbi at a Likud party faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on February 22, 2016. (Miriam Alsterl/Flash90)

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