Free Republic

When Naftali Bennett took over Israel’s premiership from Benjamin Netanyahu in June of 2021, the Likud leader was famously derisive and dismissive of his successor, questioning the legitimacy of his government and promising to return to power quickly. Some commentators criticized Netanyahu then for his apparent lack of decorum, noting that previous transfers of power had been more courteous. Now, a little more than a year later and with Netanyahu set to return to the premiership, a new detail has emerged from that handover. Channel 12 news on Friday published a photo of a note that was left for Bennett...

"What you've been projecting is blatantly false," responded Bennett. "I object to the symmetry you're trying to create here ... who's getting murdered? We're not seeing Israelis murdering Palestinians." Over Amanpour's protests, the Prime Minister continued: "I also object - these are not occupied territories... "Israel is peaceful," he said. "About a month ago, unfortunately, a new wave of terror was thrown upon the Israeli public. We lost 14 people in four terror attacks. In Tel Aviv center, Arab Muslim terrorists, some of them affiliated with ISIS, came with rifles and started shooting people on the street. This is unacceptable....

Benjamin Netanyahu's rivals were on the brink of removing him from power on Sunday after Naftali Bennett, a right-wing firebrand, signalled that he would join a coalition government with centrist leader Yair Lapid. Mr Bennett, the leader of the Yamina party, and Mr Lapid are said to be closing in on a coalition deal that unites parties across the political spectrum, in a move that would oust Israel's longest-serving and most controversial prime minister after 12 years in power. According to Israeli media reports, Mr Bennett, a former defence minister and modern Orthodox Jew, has told allies in Yamina that...

Finance Minister Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, on Sunday threatened that he would topple the government if it annexes any areas of Judea and Samaria. Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, Lapid said that Israel should “prepare maps” for the next round of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA). An agreement with the PA...would prevent Israel from being "internationally isolated", will increase personal safety, will help the economy "and above all - will remove from above our heads the threat of becoming a bi-national state, the only meaning of which is the end of Israel’s existence as...

The man who wants to test his power against Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu, Israel's popular "King Bibi," works in a surprisingly understated, tube-shaped office with three telephones ringing off the hook. The only thing that stands out is a picture on the wall. Covered in glass, it shows an embroidered figure of a woman wearing an apron dress. Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, 42, is keen to show that he doesn't hold much regard for the daily grind of political life and that if it weren't for the azure silhouette of his great aunt Zila embroidered in yarn, he might instead...