Opposition get in last minute digs at outgoing government
Leader of the opposition and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a last-ditch effort to get every vote needed in order to ensure that his right-wing block wins the 61 Knesset seats needed to form a new government after Tuesday’s national elections.
Polling station inJerusalem, in Election Day for Israel’s 22nd Knesset. Jerusalem, Sep 17, 2019. Photo by Esty Dziubov/TPS
To that end, he was joined by other leaders from his block on Monday in attacks made on social media on the outgoing coalition government for failing Israelis on security matters.
Benjamin Netanyahu tried to scare his supporters into coming out to vote, telling them that his block is not guaranteed of winning on Tuesday.
“According to the polls,” he tweeted, “we are in an emergency situation. Asking you to bring two more Mahal [Likud] voters to the polls so that we can replace Lapid. Likud voters must get out of the house and vote in order for us to restore security to Israel.”
“We are tied,” added Netanyahu. “You will decide – a ‘Mahal’ ballot in the ballot box will stop the left of Lapid-Ganz and Abbas, a ‘Mahal’ ballot for the right-wing government for 4 years.”
Netanyahu went on to charge that under Lapid and Gantz, “Terrorism is raging under a torch.”
“We brought the best security decade in Israel’s history according to IDF data,” Netanyahu boasted. “Lapid formed a government with supporters of terrorism and harmed the security of the citizens of Israel.”
The leader of the right-wing Otzma Yehudi (Jewish Strength) party had similar sentiments.
“We must restore security to the streets,” tweeted Ben-Gvir on Monday. “Only if we have 15 mandates can I be the minister of internal security. Vote, that’s what the elections are about!”
Ben-Gvir’s partner and leader of the joint Religious Zionism list/party Bezalel Smotrich, however, took a different tact, saying that the division of seats among the right-wing parties is not what is important.
“Not a terrible dilemma,” he said. “The main thing is to vote for one of the parties of the national camp.”
“That’s what the elections are about tomorrow!” added Smotrich, accusing Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz of leading a government of terror. “Continue the security failure under the auspices of Gantz-Lapid and the Muslim Brotherhood or restore personal security, deterrence and national pride.”
