‘Stop whining, take responsibility’: Opposition, former PM assail Netanyahu speech

Opposition leaders assail Netanyahu for his speech, in which he blamed the previous government for Israel’s current security instability.

“Instead of holding a press conference and blaming others for the troubles caused by his extremist and failed government, the time has come for [Netanyahu] and his ministers to stop whining and finally take responsibility,” says opposition leader Yair Lapid.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett describes Netanyahu’s speech as “unleaderlike and shameful,” and rejects his accusation that the maritime border and natural gas agreement signed by the last government with Lebanon damaged Israel’s deterrence.

“The agreement was with Lebanon, not with Hezbollah, and what Hezbollah is doing now has no connection at all with that agreement,” Bennett insists.

“This is a time for leadership, not for blaming others, he adds.

National Unity party head Benny Gantz tweets: “You don’t build leadership by whining.”

And Yisrael Beytenu leader and former finance and defense minister Avigdor Liberman says Netanyahu’s speech “proves that the man is not fit to do his job,” and alleges that the prime minister’s son Yair is telling his father what to do.

“The only conclusion from all the trolling we saw and heard tonight is that, in the best case scenario, Benjamin Netanyahu has become the contractor of Yair Netanyahu,” Liberman claims, in reference to reports of Yair’s increasing influence over the prime minister. He calls on the Likud party to remove Netanyahu from office.

Netanyahu in his press conference explicitly denied that Yair Netanyahu influences policy, saying his son is “an independent person” who has “zero influence.”