Naftali Bennett released a sharp video response in which he derided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lengthy written effort to shift responsibility for the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, portraying the veteran leader as “the Israeli Forrest Gump, a weak, pitiful, helpless nebach who just happened to stumble into events.”
In the same remarks, Bennett went on to say of Netanyahu: “He is not a leader, but someone who is led. He is not a commander, but a subordinate.”
Bennett’s comments, delivered in a recorded statement, invoked the 1994 film about an unassuming character who inadvertently becomes present at, or influences, major historical moments in postwar America. Bennett, a former prime minister and widely viewed as Netanyahu’s most formidable rival in the current election cycle, used the comparison to underscore what he described as Netanyahu’s absence of leadership.
The remarks were issued in reaction to Netanyahu’s publication last week of a 55-page compilation of responses he submitted to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, as part of the comptroller’s investigation into the October 7 attack.
Netanyahu, who had served as prime minister since 2009 with the exception of an 18-month interval in 2021–2022, had faced sustained criticism for attempting to present himself as having pushed for decisive action against Hamas, only to have been blocked by opposition from senior security officials and a lack of public support.
Addressing that argument directly, Bennett said, “Netanyahu has criticism of the security establishment — so do I,” before stressing that Netanyahu was “not a cabinet minister. He was the prime minister of Israel and the supreme commander of the State of Israel for 12.5 out of the 14 years preceding the greatest disaster in Israel’s history.”
Bennett also took aim at what he characterized as Netanyahu’s implication that he was unable to effectively direct Israel’s military and intelligence agencies, mocking the notion that the prime minister had been “incapable” of commanding the very institutions under his authority.
Summarizing his assessment of the document, Bennett said, “What emerges from it is that Netanyahu did not lead, did not manage, and did not govern,” arguing that in trying to clear himself of blame, the prime minister instead authored “the most severe indictment imaginable against a prime minister in Israel.”
Bennett concluded by saying, “In the 55 pages of this document, you see a weak man who allows the Hezbollah monster to grow before his eyes in the north and the Hamas monster to grow in the south to enormous dimensions, and he does nothing.”
{Matzav.com}Israel’s Competition Authority said Sunday that it plans to formally classify El Al as a monopoly on flights into and out of Israel for the period spanning October 7, 2023, through May 2024, and is seeking to levy the maximum fine permitted by law — NIS 121 million — pending the outcome of a hearing.
The regulator said that once foreign carriers halted operations in the wake of the Hamas attack, El Al’s share of the aviation market surged sharply, climbing from roughly 20% prior to October 7 to more than 70% within days. During the initial months of the war, the airline’s overall market share remained above 50%. The authority also found that average airfare during this time increased by approximately 16%, with hikes on major routes ranging between 6% and 31%.
According to the Competition Authority, those fare increases were “excessive and unfair” in light of the reduced competition and the heightened demand from travelers.
El Al pushed back against the findings, arguing that the pricing methodology used by the regulator is fundamentally flawed and without precedent. The airline said it intends to challenge the conclusions and present its position during a formal hearing process.
{Matzav.com}
Iran intensified its public threats against Israel and the United States on Sunday, erecting a large and ominous sign in central Tehran that openly signals hostility as preparations continue for another round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
The display, placed in Falastine Square in the center of the Iranian capital, features the phrase “Rain of Missiles” alongside a map depicting central Israel. The message is being viewed as an unmistakable and deliberate threat aimed at Israel, delivered in full public view at a sensitive diplomatic moment.
Against that backdrop, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made clear earlier in the day that Tehran has no intention of abandoning its nuclear ambitions, regardless of the consequences.
Araghchi said Iran is willing to consider certain constraints on its nuclear activities but will categorically reject Washington’s demand for a full suspension of uranium enrichment.
“We insist on our right to a nuclear program, even if it leads to war,” he said in a conversation with diplomats in Tehran. “They attacked our nuclear facilities but did not achieve their goal. The only option left for them is negotiations.”
He further framed Iran’s posture as ideological defiance rather than purely military power, adding: “The secret of the Islamic Republic’s strength lies in its ability to say ‘no’ to the great powers. Our atomic bomb is the power to say ‘no’ – not physically, but ideologically.”
U.S. negotiators, meanwhile, are pressing for sweeping concessions, including a complete end to uranium enrichment, severe restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program — with one proposal calling for a maximum missile range of 500 kilometers, while Israel is demanding a stricter cap of 300 kilometers — and a halt to Tehran’s support for allied armed groups throughout the region. Those groups include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militias operating in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen.
{Matzav.com}