Former prime minister Naftali Bennett heavily criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war with Iran on Tuesday on the "Hazman Hazeh" program on Kan News, saying that the Prime Minister's interests have affected Israel's standing on the world stage.
"The current government is no longer capable of advancing Israel," Bennett said. "He is saying something terrible. He says that as long as he is the prime minister, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. In other words, the second he is no longer prime minister, Israel will be destroyed."
He emphasized that October 7 happened under Netanyahu's watch, before calling Netanyahu's statements an example of "anti-leadership."
"A good parent raises their children so they won't be dependent on them," Bennett said. "And a good leader builds a nation that won't be dependent on [himself]..."
"We can do things differently. The current government is no longer capable of advancing Israel in any dimension, but with a different leadership, it is possible. The moment you are not enslaved to countless personal interests, and you are free to act, you can achieve very, very great things," he added.
Bennett: 'I'll do whatever it takes... I am the only one who can defeat him'
Asked whether he would have succeeded as prime minister in resisting US pressure over the Iranian ceasefire agreement, Bennet stressed that he would have done everything differently and wouldn't have gotten into the situation in the first place.
Regarding the US-Iran ceasefire deal and the nuclear issue, Bennett said, "Iran's nuclear program has not been dismantled."
On elections, Bennett said he would do "whatever it takes" to defeat his rival, Netanyahu.
According to him, it will require a right-wing candidate to replace Netanyahu because Israel itself has moved to the right.
Using the example of Hungary, where Victor Orban was only defeated after a right-wing candidate challenged him after 16 years of failed challenges by the center and left, Bennett said, "I am the only one who can defeat him. I know how to stare Netanyahu down and defeat him. I've done it before, and I know how to do it again."