At a time when the electoral battle is heating up inside Israel, the head of the “Israel Our Home” party, Avigdor Lieberman, opened fire on the new parties preparing to run in the elections, warning that they might drain the votes of the camp to which he belongs. He also directed a direct strike at Benjamin Netanyahu, considering that he had built a list within Likud that would lead to loss, and that his calculations were focused on preventing the formation of an internal force capable of turning against him.
According to an interview conducted by Avigdor Lieberman, Tuesday morning, with Radio 103FM, the president of “Israel Beytenu” attacked what he described as “the fashion of parties,” considering that this phenomenon was the main reason for the loss in the previous elections.
Lieberman said: “We must vote for stable parties, and not vote for parties in the atmosphere. Because of that, we lost the last elections.”
He addressed the figures who chose to establish new political frameworks by saying: “I say to everyone: You had an opportunity to join existing parties, but because of your ambitions you decided to run in the elections. Do not obstruct, you have no opportunity.”
He added: “According to what I saw in the polls, none of them succeed in exceeding the electoral threshold, but they can deduct 3 seats from the productive and servant camps.”
Lieberman confirmed that these figures received offers to join existing parties, and not from him alone. He said: “Everyone received offers, not just from me. All parties were ready to accommodate them, and the offers were fair and generous, but each one of them followed his personal ambition.”
Lieberman recalled previous political experiences in Israel, saying: “Since 1977, I have counted 15 lists that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared into nothingness,” enumerating among them Yigal Yadin, “Dash,” “Kadima,” “Ahura,” “One Year,” “Another Year,” “The Movement,” “Retirees,” and “Youth.”
He added, warningly: “Now there is too much at stake.”
When asked whether he saw himself and his party as historical heirs to Likud, he answered in the affirmative and said: “There is no doubt that the only liberal national movement today on the political scene is Yisrael Our Home, and there is no other.”
He continued: “Every true Likud must vote for the letter ‘L’, that is, for Israel Our Home.”
As for the composition of the Likud list, Lieberman went on to say that Netanyahu “built a list to lose.”
He explained that what governs Netanyahu’s internal calculations, in his opinion, is to ensure that a majority of more than 51% is not formed within the Likud bloc against him, and to prevent the emergence of another group that can obtain recognition from the Knesset and defect from the party.
Lieberman said: “What he is directing is how to prevent the formation of 51% within the bloc against him, and how to prevent the emergence of an additional bloc that can obtain recognition by the Knesset and split. He does not want to lose the majority within his bloc, and is making his calculations on this basis.”
Thus, Lieberman moves the battle from a mere competition between parties to within Likud itself, putting Netanyahu’s electoral options before a different reading: a list that is not only built with the aim of winning at the ballot box, but also to ensure that control over the party remains on the day following the elections.
