Bennett caves in, apologizes to Netanyahu

Habayit Hayehudi's leader yields to threat of dismissal from the government, apologizes to Netanyahu for unwarranted criticism • PMO: Bennett will be judged according to future conduct. He must remember that he's a senior cabinet member, act accordingly.

Mati Tuchfeld and Shlomo Cesana

Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [Archive] | Photo credit: Uri Lenz

Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett on Wednesday yielded to pressure and apologized to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for recent critical comments he made against him. The apology followed several barb-laced and politically tense days, which culminated in an unequivocal demand by the prime minister that Bennett apologize or face serious consequences.

High-ranking Likud sources said that Netanyahu was willing to follow through on his threat, and that he already had Bennett's letter of dismissal from the government ready.

"Some people are trying to turn a substantial discussion about the future of our country and its security into a personal attack that never took place. If the prime minister was offended -- that was never my intention." Bennett said, speaking at a conference for institutional directors in the religious sector, held Wednesday morning at a Dead Sea resort,

Still, political sources said that the personal rivalry between Netanyahu and Bennett was likely to rear its head again sooner, rather than later.

The crisis between the prime minister and Habayit Hayehudi's leader began earlier this week, when Bennett leveled harsh criticism at Netanyahu after sources in the Prime Minister's Office said that the Palestinian Authority should allow a Jewish minority to remain within the borders of the future Palestinian state. Bennett said the notion reflected "an irrationality of values."

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office initially said that Bennett would be reprimanded for his statement, but Netanyahu chose to rise above the incident and ignore it. Bennett, however, continued to lash out at him, telling the annual Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv that the notion was "absurd," since any Jews living under Palestinian sovereignty "will surely be killed."

President Shimon Peres was the first to respond to Bennett's remarks, saying, "[Bennett] is concerned that Jews will be killed? That concern belonged in 1948, when there were only 600,000 Jews here. We were not deterred then, so why should we be afraid now?"

According to PMO officials, Bennett harmed the interests of the settlements with his irresponsible behavior. "It was made clear to Bennett that he was expected to apologize," a senior PMO source said. "No one will teach Netanyahu what it means to love Israel, and what it is to protect the security interests of Israeli citizens. Bennett is insolent and his behavior will not be tolerated.

"If he is so passionate about this subject, why does he insist on holding on to his [government] seat? The coalition will be just fine without him," the source said.

As tensions rose, so did criticism against Bennett by various ministers and MKs. "Naftali, my friend, it is because we share so many political views that I urge you to apologize to the prime minister. The fight over where Jews will live under a future peace deal is an idle one," Transportation and Road Safety Minister Yisrael Katz posted on his Facebook page.

"If Bennett is unable to give the prime minister the proper [political] backing he should resign from the government," MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) said Wednesday. "The demand for Bennett to apologize is nonnegotiable," he stressed.

Housing Minister Uri Ariel -- Bennett's No. 2 in Habayit Hayehudi -- said that he, too, believed Bennett should apologize. Ariel eventually brokered the end of the Netanyahu-Bennett crisis.

Faced with a political firestorm, Bennett refrained from responding to Netanyahu's demand for hours, holding discreet consultations with his advisers and closes associates.

By nightfall, the demand for an apology had become an ultimatum from the prime minister, prompting Bennett to apologize.

"I respect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his leadership in these complex times. I support him when it is necessary, and I criticize him when it is necessary -- that is my duty," Bennett said in a statement released by his office on Wednesday evening. "Imposing Palestinian sovereignty on Israeli citizens was a dangerous notion, and it was my duty to remove it from the agenda. It is no longer part of it. If the prime minister was offended -- that was never my intention."

Bennett's office initially released a statement adding that Habayit Hayehudi's leader "regretted" his words, but it quickly revised it to say he had "no intention" of offending the prime minister.

A source in Bennett's party labeled the apology a move made by "a responsible adult," saying that "Bennett never intended, not for one minute, to offend the prime minister personally and it was important to him to make that clear. He respects Netanyahu, and he preferred to put this episode behind him rather than play games or insist on matters of honor.

"Bennett saw before him a trial balloon like that one [former Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon sent [Haaretz commentator] Yoel Marcus' way at the time, regarding the [Gaza Strip] disengagement plan. That balloon turned into a speech at the Herzliya Conference and propelled into a plan of action that was eventually realized. It was important to Bennett to deflate this balloon before it took off, and he did," the source said, adding that "Bennett verified the 'killing' of the plan to abandon Jewish settlements to the mercy of a foreign regime."

A senior source in the Prime Minister's Office welcomed Bennett's apology, but stressed that "Bennett will be judged according to his future conduct. He must remember that he is a senior cabinet member and a member of the coalition and act accordingly."