Netanyahu slammed by political foes over Saudi-Iran rapprochement

Israeli politicians used the surprising Saudi-Iran rapprochement to stage a severe attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media reported on Friday.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations on Friday after talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two rival countries.

“As a result of the talks, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies within two months,” Iranian news agency Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

Commenting on this, Israeli opposition Leader Yair Lapid announced: “The agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran reflects the complete and dangerous failure of the Israeli government’s foreign policy.”

Former Defence Minister and fierce critic of Netanyahu Benny Gantz stated: “The enormous security challenges facing the country are increasing and the prime minister and his cabinet are busy with a coup d’état.”

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Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennet added his view that: “Countries in the world and the region are watching Israel in turmoil over the dysfunctional government that is engaged in systematic self-destruction. This is what happens when one deals with legal insanity all day instead of doing one’s job against Iran and strengthening relations with the United States. This delivers a fatal blow to efforts to build a regional coalition against Iran.”

Bennet stressed that this is a: “Resounding failure of the Netanyahu government and stems from a combination of political neglect with the country’s general weakness and internal conflict.”