New Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during a recent appearance on Newsmax TV called for a fix to the Israeli-Palestine violence by disarming Hamas long-term.
“America’s certainly our greatest friend and greatest ally. Right now, we are fighting to defend lives in Israel, for example, this 5-year-old boy, his name is Ido, he was killed by a Hamas rocket that was shot directly to his house,” Bennett said during a May 19 appearance on Newsmax TV’s “Spicer & Co” when he was just head of Israel’s right-wing Yamina party.
He was sworn in Sunday after the Knesset, Israeli’s parliament, voted to form a new government made up of opposition groups pledging to heal caustic divisions and advance “peace, security and prosperity” for Israelis and Palestinians.
Bennett shared his thoughts on the violence with Newsmax in late May and posted the clip to his YouTube account.
“That’s what they’re doing – they’re shooting thousands of rockets on Israeli homes in order to kill children, to kill women and what we’re doing right now is fighting back not only to stop the current round, but we want to disarm them from the ability to hit right back again in half a year or a year,” Bennett said at the time. “We have to clean this up and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
Netanyahu, who led Israel for 12 years, vowed: “we’ll be back.”
“If it is destined for us to be in the opposition, we will do it with our backs straight until we topple this dangerous government and return to lead the country in our way,” he said.
In a statement, President Joe Biden praised Bennett and Yair Lapid, who will serve two years after Bennett serves two years in a power-share agreement, and said the U.S. would continue its long relationship with Israel.
“Israel has no better friend than the United States. The bond that unites our people is evidence of our shared values and decades of close cooperation and as we continue to strengthen our partnership, the United States remains unwavering in its support for Israel’s security,” Biden said.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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