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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his final speech to the Knesset on Sunday to pledge a swift return to office, attack his replacement and invoke the Biden administration’s efforts to revive the nuclear deal with Iran.
Netanyahu, 71, stepped down from the new coalition government led by Naftali Bennett, who became the new prime minister after a vote of 60 to 59. President Biden quickly congratulated the new government.
Bennett’s office said he later spoke on the phone with Biden, thanking him for his warm wishes and his long-standing commitment to Israel’s security.
Netanyahu described Bennett, once his ally, as a lightweight politician who did not have the talent to handle the job.
Netanyahu went on to talk about the challenges of dealing with the United States. He said the “administration” in Washington had asked him “not to openly discuss our disagreement on Iran.”
“But with all due respect, I can’t do that,” Netanyahu was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying.
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Netanyahu compared the US attempt to return to the Iran nuclear deal with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s decision not to blow up the train tracks that led to Auschwitz – the concentration camp – when there was an opportunity in 1944, the newspaper said.
“The prime minister of Israel must be able to say no to the president of the United States on issues that threaten our existence,” he said. The report said that Netanyahu recalled his 2015 speech before a joint session of Congress to express his dissatisfaction with the nuclear deal under Obama.
The White House did not immediately respond to an email hours later from Fox News.
The speech was supposed to take 15 minutes but lasted more than half an hour, according to The Times of Israel. A senior Israeli diplomat told Axios that Netanyahu “decided to damage the US-Israel relationship for his own personal interests and is trying to leave scorched earth to the next government.”
Netanyahu said Iran was “celebrating” his loss because they “realize that starting today there will be a weak and unstable government that will comply with the dictates of the international community.”
The Times of Israel noted that Bennett also spoke of his opposition to the United States’ return to the nuclear deal.
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Netanyahu was clear about his concern about the United States returning to the nuclear agreement with Iran. Last month, after a ceasefire was declared between Israel and Hamas after an 11-day conflict, Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken visited Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu held a joint press conference with the chief diplomat and said, “I can tell you that I hope the United States will not go back to the old JCPOA because we believe that this deal paves the way for Iran to acquire a nuclear arsenal of weapons of international legitimacy,” Netanyahu said, referring to The abbreviation for the nuclear agreement, which is officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“We have also emphasized that no matter what happens, Israel will always reserve the right to defend itself against a regime committed to our destruction, committed to acquiring weapons of mass destruction for this purpose,” the Israeli prime minister added.
Netanyahu is still the head of the largest party in parliament. The new coalition is an amalgam of small and medium parties that could collapse if any of its members decided to withdraw. For example, Bennett’s party holds only six seats in the 120-seat parliament.
The driving force behind the alliance is Yair Lapid, a centrist politician who will become prime minister within two years in a rotation agreement with Bennett, if the government continues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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