Opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu released on Monday a phone number through which Likud supporters can call and talk to the former prime minister, in a video posted on his social media accounts.
Netanyahu received 9,420 calls within 30 minutes of the phone number being released, according to the Likud.
In the video, Netanyahu stated he "discovered a whole new world" since purchasing a smartphone last year," adding that he "made a dramatic decision" to publish his supposed phone number to make himself available to every Israeli citizen.
ביבי עושה אנה זק. סרטון חדש של נתניהו pic.twitter.com/zwbTTVGJ5k
— יוסלה ברגמן (@y_bregman1) August 22, 2022
"Call me up, I'll speak to some of you through video calls," the former prime minister added.
A number of coalition factions released statements ridiculing Netanyahu's move. Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman shared his own satirical video on Twitter, saying Netanyahu "has not picked up the phone in 12 years."
ביבי, שומע? אתה לא עונה כבר 12 שנה. pic.twitter.com/WSdCFidoBh
— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) August 22, 2022
Another satirical video posted by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked's Zionist Spirit faction shows Netanyahu not responding to questions on the annexation of the West Bank, reforms in the judicial system and other issues Netanyahu had previously promised to solve.
ביבי, רואים שאתה מחובר בוואטסאפ. למה אתה לא עונה? pic.twitter.com/XmPvpSBY9X
— הרוח הציונית (@Rtziyonit) August 22, 2022
Prime Minister Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid also released a statement on the phone number, saying that "no fictional phone operated by Netanyahu's aides does not hide the fact that he criminally neglected every piece of Israel for 15 years."