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Lapid and Lieberman trade blows with Netanyahu over Israel’s international relations
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Yisrael Beitenu head Avigdor Lieberman yesterday jointly hosted a Knesset conference to discuss what they described as an emergency in Israel’s foreign relations, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of wanton neglect.
Lapid said “The deterioration of our foreign relations is dramatic” and that, “Our international standing has never been so terrible, from 1948 until today. And what makes things even worse is that the government does not realise this.” He also decried that responsibility for Israel’s public diplomacy is split between five different ministries, with the result that “no one knows what the others are doing,” but that, “It doesn’t have to be like that.”
Meanwhile, Lieberman, who served as Foreign Minister in two Netanyahu governments, said that, “The Foreign Ministry is the personal property of nobody, including the Netanyahu family. You can’t just take it and run it into the ground.” He alleged that, “What is happening today is … a real attempt to take the Israeli foreign service by force and simply destroy it.” There is currently no full-time foreign minister with Netanyahu himself filling the role. Lieberman also criticised the foreign ministry’s relatively small budget and the recent closure of several missions, calling it “utter neglect.”
Netanyahu quickly responded to the claims, saying “there are some who choose to talk endlessly and to deal in political conferences, and there are those who fend off the pressures on the State of Israel and strengthen our international alliances.” Netanyahu pointed to growing relations with Africa and Asia, plus an upcoming meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden as evidence of Israel’s strong international position.
In an interview with Ynet, both Lapid and Lieberman denied that yesterday’s conference indicated any wider political cooperation, with the two parties holding significant ideological differences. Nonetheless, writing in Yediot Ahronot, commentator Sima Kadmon said, “If there is anything that terrifies the prime minister, it is the possibility of a connection between these two people.”