At a press conference held today (Wednesday), MK Avigdor Liberman outlined his red lines for the next government. Lieberman stated that he would not compromise on a stable government based on a constitution and a referendum, ruled out any political cooperation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and called for a shift from a defense policy of “rounds” to a complete military victory on various fronts. However, Lieberman chose not to broadcast Channel 14’s question on whether he would again sit in a government that relies on the Arab parties.
The Yisrael Beiteinu chairman began his remarks by outlining the role of the next government: “The next government will have to establish a constitution. Within six months, it will hold a referendum on a constitution. You can’t maintain a routine, you can’t establish a normal society when you’re running rounds every few years.”
Regarding military priorities, Liberman stated that the ultimate goal is Iran: “First of all, it’s defeating Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas… As far as I’m concerned, defeating Iran is regime change. First of all, regime change, there’s no other meaning to a defeat in Iran.”
He compared Iran to democratic countries with nuclear capabilities: “Countries like Japan or Germany – they have all the knowledge, all the technology. If they make a decision, it’s a matter of a few months until they have nuclear weapons. Nobody is afraid of Japan or Germany, because there is a responsible, democratic leadership… We are all afraid of Iran, because there is a fanatical, jealous regime there… For them, nuclear weapons are an insurance policy to preserve the regime.”
Liberman warned against political arrangements reminiscent of the West’s failure with North Korea in the 1990s: “Right now we are hearing again about negotiations, maybe an agreement. I suggest everyone see what happened last time – it’s really déjà vu. And I’m talking about 1993-1994, an arrangement by another president, Clinton, with North Korea… The United States provided them with food and fuel… and we see how it ended.”
On the political front, Liberman stated definitively: “If the world turned upside down, I would not sit with Netanyahu.” Regarding Mansour Abbas and the Arab sector, he added, “I know Mansour Abbas. I sat with him. He wants to be the Shas of the Arabs. This direction of separatism is unacceptable to me. On the issue of Arabs, we do not follow Bibi, quite the opposite.” In response to a journalist’s question about the statements of Yair Golan and Minister Smotrich, he replied: “They are both talking nonsense.”