Lieberman Claims Senior Likud Figures Asked for Help to Oust Netanyahu

Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Lieberman claimed that senior Likud officials recently approached him, asking for assistance in a move to end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tenure. Speaking in an interview with Anna Barsky in the Walla studio as part of "Bamat Yisrael"—the special conference hosted by Maariv, Walla, and the Jerusalem Post Group—Lieberman said those figures even presented him with an action plan for the day after the elections.

"A few days ago I was at a social event and met several senior Likud members there," he recounted. "They told me something fascinating: 'You must help us get rid of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.' In those exact words."

According to Lieberman, the conversation did not stop at criticizing Netanyahu, and the officials even suggested how to act post-election. "They taught me what needs to be done. They said: 'As soon as the results are in, first of all you must elect a Knesset Speaker. And do not form a government—just pass one law: that a citizen facing a criminal trial or against whom an indictment has been filed is barred from running for the Knesset. Period.' That is what senior Likud members told me."

"Come What May, I Will Not Sit With Netanyahu"

Lieberman also rejected the possibility of joining a unity government with Netanyahu after the elections, including in a scenario where the president pushes for such a move. "The President has not spoken to me. I'll tell you more than that: there is no option, come what may, that I sit with Netanyahu in the same government," he said. "Netanyahu must go home, period. He must bear responsibility for the Meron disaster, the October 7 massacre, and the Fly Dubai fiasco. He cannot continue. Even if appointed Minister for Regional Cooperation—I am not sitting with him."

Lieberman added that from his perspective, the upcoming elections are not just another ordinary election cycle. "This is not a matter of regular elections and not a metaphor: either Netanyahu goes home, or the Third Temple falls," he said. According to him, Israel's international standing has plummeted during Netanyahu's tenure. "Netanyahu has made us pariahs in the world. The US President arrives in New York and refuses to meet the Prime Minister of Israel. He meets Erdogan, Mohammed bin Salman, all the regional leaders—and not Bibi. Not a single G7 leader is willing to meet him. We have lost public and political support in the US."

"The Chief of Staff is Raising Ten Red Flags"

Lieberman also addressed the "QatarGate" affair and reports concerning Prime Minister's Office staff. "In September 2024, in the thick of combat, dozens of soldiers killed, hundreds of hostages in Gaza—and a senior PMO official is dealing with Qatar's public relations and how to whitewash it," he said. "It is simply astounding. Even within the Likud they are furious about this."

On the issue of equal burden, Lieberman presented a particularly hardline stance, rejecting gradual models or those based on partial conscription targets. "I hear Gadi's model, and Winter's model talking about 25%—anyone talking about a model or an administration to check who studies and who doesn't is simply stalling. Anyone who goes for such a model won't draft a single soldier," he said.

"As far as I am concerned there will not be a millimeter of compromise," he added. "I will not enter any government without a sharp and clear law: everyone—Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Circassians—100% drafted at age 18. The army will determine who goes to a military track and who to national service. There will be no exemptions for anyone, not a rabbi, not a kollel student, and not any young person." According to him, the manpower crisis in the IDF no longer allows for compromises. "The Chief of Staff is raising ten red flags and saying there are no soldiers for the IDF and that the IDF is collapsing into itself, and someone thinks of continuing with the draft-dodger coalition of Goldknopf, Deri, and Bibi?"

"We Sit in the Opposition and Eat Gravel"

Lieberman also touched upon the struggle within the anti-Netanyahu bloc, specifically targeting the campaign led by Gadi Eisenkot to make his party the largest in the camp. According to him, such an attempt could harm the entire bloc. "Yair Lapid ran in the last elections with the largest party in the bloc, with 24 mandates, and since then all of us sit in the opposition and eat gravel," he said.

"A large party is not what will help. Everyone must drop their ambitions, unite around the bloc strategy, and bring an overwhelming majority," he added. Lieberman expressed confidence that the bloc will succeed in forming the next government. "We are not in a tie or a deadlock—we are going to win these elections big and establish a coalition of those who serve."