MK Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, criticized Naftali Bennett after he revealed in a personal column he published in the Wall Street Journal that during his term, Israel attacked a drone base in Iran, and implied that Israel was responsible for the assassination of senior Revolutionary Guards officer Hassan Khodai in Tehran.
Edelstein wrote: "There are those who enlist for the country and there are those who enlist the country for them." He added verses from Proverbs: "For in the midst of war you will make war, and in the multitude of counselors you will be saved. The wise will not open the door of a fool, but he who plans evil will be called by his own devices.".
A government source sharply criticized Bennett and told 'Kan News': Bennett's conduct is extraordinarily irresponsible, stemming from narrow and shocking political considerations.
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The publication of the Israeli attack was carried out without Bennett receiving censorship approval. The publication was made possible due to the fact that Bennett was interviewed abroad.
Bennett is a disaster.
— Hallel Bitton Rosen (@BittonRosen) December 29, 2023
Michael Shemesh, the political correspondent for 'Kan HaHadasht', wrote: "The truth deserves to be told: The election campaign that Bennett has been running from his couch in Ra'anana, since the beginning of the war, on the backs of the defense establishment, IDF soldiers on the battlefield, and decision-makers, is one of the most ridiculous and even a bit despicable that has been seen here.".
Avishai Greenzig, a legal reporter for the Public Broadcasting Corporation, tweeted: "Bennett was a small man and remains so. I hope that at the end of the war we will finally have proper leadership, leaders who put the good of Israel before themselves and do not conduct a political campaign during the war, and preferably those who do not break the law whenever they feel like it just to remind the world that they exist.".
""P.S.: None of the prophecies Bennett uttered in my ears to explain his populist position on why it is forbidden to enter Gaza came true in practice. Just to avoid getting into the political muddle while our soldiers are risking their lives, I will not begin to detail all of Bennett's complicated briefings during the war. May we all have a Shabbat Shalom and may God have worthy leaders.".
Michael Ben Ari tweeted: ""Mother Bennett Will he be summoned for questioning, for revealing state secrets? Will his security classification be lowered accordingly, so that he can never take part in security discussions? Or is Bennett allowed?!""
From now on, instead of according to foreign publications, we can say according to Naftali Bennett.
— roi kais • روعي كايس • روي كايس (@kaisos1987) December 29, 2023
In response to the criticism, Bennett said: "The problem with Iran is not the publication of the moves we have taken against it that were already known in the past, but that Iran is kidnapping us through Hamas and Hezbollah and even the Houthis, and the governments of the last decade have been talking and talking, but not exacting a painful price from Iran's leaders. We need to harness the United States and other allies for the ultimate goal: cutting off the head of the octopus and overthrowing the Iranian regime.".
