Likud responded sharply on Monday evening to a speech by Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, while simultaneously attacking Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, over election integrity and serious allegations of foreign interference.
In an official statement, Likud’s spokesperson said: “Gadi Eisenkot is trying to prevent the truth from being uncovered regarding the serious suspicions presented to Judge Solberg about the contamination of Israel’s elections by foreign elements on the security front. The shocking report Liberman published today amplifies these suspicions.”
Likud then issued a direct demand to the Yisrael Beytenu chairman: “We demand that MK Liberman transfer all information in his possession to the Elections Committee, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and the head of the Shin Bet.”
1+Likud’s demand comes against the backdrop of sharp remarks Liberman delivered earlier in the day, in which he addressed the political storm surrounding the possibility of forming a minority government with the support of Arab parties—and made clear his party would not support such a move under any circumstances.
Liberman harshly criticized figures on the left who called on him to cooperate with the Arab factions, calling it a destructive step. “We don’t want to encourage separatism. Israeli society is heading down the Lebanese path, and anyone who encourages separatism is making a huge mistake,” he said. He directly attacked statements by Joint List representatives after the election, citing remarks by Osama Saadi, who dedicated the electoral achievement to prisoners in Israeli jails. “Who are these prisoners? They’re terrorists who murdered, raped, and burned,” Liberman said.
1+During his speech, Liberman described the heavy pressure campaign from left-wing figures after the polls closed. “I received a wave of text messages from the left, from people who didn’t vote for me, telling me I have to sit with them,” he said.
To illustrate his position and the danger of relying on those elements, Liberman mentioned two prominent peace activists who were murdered in the October 7 massacre and Hamas captivity—Vivian Silver, who was killed in the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, and Oded Lifshitz, who used to drive sick people from Gaza to Israeli hospitals, was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz and murdered in captivity. Liberman emphasized that even their years of activism on behalf of ‘Palestinians’ didn’t protect them from the terrorists, and concluded his speech with an unequivocal statement: “Despite the pressure, we will not be part of and will not support any minority government.”