Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu butted heads at a meeting on issues plaguing the Negev Region at the Knesset plenum, Monday.
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"I was asked to comment on the issue of crime in the Negev," Bennett said in his opening remarks to the Knesset. "For many years, there was comprehensive and systematic neglect of Arab crime in general and crime in the Negev in particular. This neglect led to a situation of total abandon, the loss of personal security of citizens of the state, and a real sense of lawlessness.
"From the moment the [current] government was established, we led substantial change in national and governmental prioritization of this issue. Over the last year, there have been over 1,400 activities and operations, and we are beginning to see results on the ground. There is a significant increase of dozens of percentage points in the seizure of firearms compared to last year. 2021 was a record year for weapons seizures, indictments, and arrests. From the beginning of 2022, we have seen a decrease of tens of percentage points in shooting incidents in Arab society."
Bennett emphasized the uncompromising effort to rein in crime families.
"Senior Hariri family members, for example, were arrested and an indictment was filed against them. Others fled overseas, and the rest are being handled intensively. The neglect will not continue on our watch. On our watch, we've acted and we will continue to act."
Netanyahu, who took the podium after the premier, retorted that "the Bedouin settlement problem is also connected to the governance problem. Naftali Bennett's party [Yamina] was entrusted with it."
Netanyahu went on to attack the Israeli leadership's conduct in regard to the conflict in Europe.
"These are sensitive days in the global arena, and in times like these, it is better to refrain from statements on the global issue at hand, certainly when it comes to unnecessary remarks," Netanyahu said.
Russia was quick to respond to Israel's statement of support for Ukraine last week, and on Wednesday, the Russian UN delegation issued a statement condemning Israel's plans for construction in the Golan Heights.
The Russian statement expressed "concern" about plans by "Tel Aviv" to expand "settlement activity in the Golan Heights," which the Russian delegation said violated the Geneva Convention of 1949.
Jerusalem has a vital interest in maintaining good ties with Moscow given its control of Syria's air space and the Israeli Air Force's de facto freedom of operations to strike Iranian targets in the Middle Eastern country.
Netanyahu said, "There will be much that remains to be said on the subject. Now is not the time. The absurdity of it is that the Israeli government is choosing to talk and about this of all things. But on another issue that really should be talked about, that something really must be done about, it is silent and does nothing. The forthcoming nuclear agreement – I don't know whether in the coming days or coming weeks – and what do Bennett and [Foreign Minister and Prime Minister-designate Yair] Lapid do? They don't say anything, and they don't do anything. They don't enlist international opinion, [the US] Congress and the Senate against this bad deal. They bow their head to the US."
He continued: "A few months ago, Bennett said, "We won't oppose every agreement. We aren't looking for a fight.' A month ago, Foreign Minister Lapid said, 'We succeeded in making the world listen to us to a certain extent.' Another success like that, and we're completely lost. This 'success' led to the US removing sanctions on Iran."
"It's absurd that the Israeli government is completely silent on this issue. Well, I'm sure you see this government's expertise on the international front. Lapid said just two weeks ago, 'There won't be an invasion of Ukraine.' Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, 'Aliens will invade Ukraine before Russian soldiers so.' Bennett's and Lapid's silence in the face of the existential threat of a nuclear Iran is no less stunning."
Netanyahu concluded his remarks by saying, "Today, we all see what happens to a country when it is at the mercy of others. Everyone also understands today, now more than ever, what international guarantees or international agreements are worth. Without force and without a willingness to use force, they are meaningless."
"The State of Israel must continue on the steady path we walked and not on the path of obedience and groveling this government has taken. If the government would fight Iran, it would have our backup and support, as I did with [late Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and [former Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert.
"Israel has the ability to prevent Iran from [acquiring] nuclear weapons. Israel must adamantly oppose the dangerous nuclear agreement and prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons at any price. This is the most important issue the government should be concerned with at this time before this bad agreement is signed. There is no government in Israel at this time."
