From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 9, 2026
Religious Zionism No. 2 Feiglin says Netanyahu should have resigned after Oct. 7
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Religious Zionism No. 2 and Zehut chairman Moshe Feiglin accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of bearing responsibility for the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, attack and says he should have resigned.
“I believed, and still believe, that Netanyahu should have resigned,” Feiglin tells 103FM radio. “He was prime minister for 30 years before October 7, and therefore bears responsibility. Not alone, of course, but certainly as the person at the head of the system.”
He further accuses Netanyahu of deciding against pursuing victory in the war from the outset, saying, “We decided on October 8, or actually as early as October 7, not to win. And on this matter, I do indeed blame Netanyahu.”
Feiglin heads the far-right Zehut party, which ran on a joint slate with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party in last month’s election, with Feiglin in the No. 2 spot. The alliance is among Likud’s staunchest political allies and remains firmly committed to Netanyahu’s bloc, having also signed a surplus-vote sharing agreement with Likud ahead of the election.
Netanyahu has never accepted direct responsibility for the failures that enabled the October 7 attack, instead repeatedly deflecting blame onto the military and intelligence establishment, opposition politicians and anti-government protesters, and has resisted calls to establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate them.
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