A secret deal was struck between the head of three Israeli political parties to topple the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and replace him with the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, a former Knesset member revealed yesterday.
Israel’s former Deputy Interior Minister Faina Kirschenbaum, who was forced to resign from the Knesset due to suspicions of her involvement in the corruption scandal involving senior members of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, told Israel’s Channel Two that the head of Yisrael Beiteinu Avigdor Lieberman, and the head of the Yesh Atid party Yair Lapid and the head of the Kulanu party Moshe Kahlon had agreed to work together to topple Netanyahu and replace him with Lieberman.
Kirschenbaum added: “Before this scandal, the polls predicted that we would get between 16 and 18 seats and we agreed on a centrist bloc with Moshe Kahlon and Yesh Atid assuming that Netanyahu would have resigned, we would have added the Likud and formed a large national bloc that could have solved a lot of problems and led a lot of moves.”
She added that the block could have succeeded because Israel does not have a law according to which the leader of the largest party must head the government.
Kirschenbaum stressed that her party would only join a right-wing government.
“The option of a left-wing government does not exist. They cannot form a coalition and are unable to increase their support. There should be a nationalist government that is as broad as possible. I do not think that Buji [Isaac Herzog] and Tzipi [Livni] should be part of it,” she said.
Kirschenbaum criticised Netanyahu saying: “I do not see Bibi’s plan. Really, this man does not take decisions. During the past six years, he did not make any important decision.”
Both Yesh Atid and Kulanu denied Kirschenbaum’s accusations while Yisrael Beiteinu refused to comment on the claims.
In her defence regarding corruption claims, Kircchenbaum said the police were chasing her party and its leadership.
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