Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday criticized interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid's handling of Israel's diplomatic crisis with Russia.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Israel and Russia are currently in a dispute over future of the Jewish Agency in Russia, following steps by the Kremlin to shut the agency's local offices.
Netanyahu said that Israel was in the middle of a "dangerous crisis in relations with Russia," from which it must extract itself as soon as possible.
Praising himself for having built "a thoughtful, balanced and responsible relationship with Moscow" when he was in office, Netanyahu said he feared everything he built "was collapsing."
Accusing Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz of "amateurism, irresponsibility, and arrogance," Netanyahu assured that if the crisis was not resolved quickly, it could "harm Israel's national security," referring to Russia permitting Israeli military actions against Iranian targets in Syria.
"When we return, with God's help, to leadership, we will fix what is being ruined now," Netanyahu continued.
"The issue is being dealt with by the government of Israel, and as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's spokesman said today, there is no diplomatic crisis," said Lapid's spokesman in a statement in response, according to The Times of Israel.
"If Netanyahu could be bothered to come and receive security updates from Prime Minister Lapid, he would learn the facts," the statement continued.
"Since he did not attend the briefing, we are informing him here that for the sake of Israel and Russian Jewry, this is a matter that should be handled discreetly, through government channels, not at press conferences and baseless statements to the media," the statement continued.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
