Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman on Sunday accused opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu of orchestrating criminal allegations made against him by a self-proclaimed former adviser of Liberman’s.
Last week, an Israeli man named Yossi Kasima claimed that some 20 years ago, when he was allegedly working as Liberman’s aide, the finance minister offered him $100,000 to assassinate a senior Israel Police official, an allegation Liberman vehemently denies.
“Any reasonable person who receives an offer to carry out a hit on a police officer would file a complaint,” Liberman argued on Sunday. Kasima’s “sudden recollection” of the story is “perplexing,” he sarcastically added.
Liberman further claimed that Netanyahu attempted a smear campaign against him to draw attention away from a warning letter the former prime minister received from the Meron Disaster Commission of Inquiry.
Avigdor Liberman laments 'Netanyahu method'
Calling it the “Netanyahu method,” Liberman listed other instances in which the former prime minister was reported to be involved in smear campaigns. These included an incident in March 2020 in which Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s campaign strategist Israel Bachar was taped, reportedly on orders of the Likud head.
“[Netanyahu] is the scum of the Earth,” Liberman said in a scathing attack. “He’s panicking. The only thing separating Netanyahu from the premiership is Avigdor Liberman.”
"The only thing keeping Netanyahu away from the premiership is Avigdor Liberman"
Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman
Liberman added that he would be happy to take a polygraph test, something Kasima had thus far rejected. In the meantime, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara announced she will look into Kamisa’s allegations.
The Likud responded to Liberman’s attack on Netanyahu. The faction said it “hopes ‘national inciter’ Liberman won’t pay $100,000 for someone to assassinate Netanyahu.”
“Liberman can stop hallucinating,” the party added. “The Likud and Netanyahu have nothing to do with the allegations made against him.”