Yisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Liberman on Saturday denied having a “vendetta” against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after coalition talks collapsed and led to new September elections, but did not rule out a potential bid to succeed him.
Speaking to Channel 12’s “Meet the Press,” Liberman, whose refusal to join the government under the terms offered was blamed for the political deadlock, said his party continued to support the formation of a right-wing government after the upcoming vote.
“We are definitely in favor of a right-wing government. I don’t care who leads it,” Liberman said. “But we will not agree to an ultra-Orthodox government.
“We are in favor of a Jewish state but against a halacha state,” he said, referring to Jewish religious law.
Liberman had repeatedly said he backed Netanyahu for prime minister, but would only join the government if there was a commitment to pass, unaltered, the Defense Ministry version of a bill regulating the draft of the ultra-Orthodox into the military. That version of the bill is opposed by ultra-Orthodox parties, who want to soften its terms.
Amid reports Likud now seeks to crush his party and ensure it does not pass the electoral threshold, Liberman said he had “no intention of running a personal campaign [against Netanyahu]. I plan to run a campaign on the issues. READ MORE
