MK Ofer Shelah: Netanyahu wants direct elections to buy immunity

“Bibi accuses us of dragging Israel into elections. Here's the truth: He had his 25-day mandate and he did nothing,” MK Ofer Shelah said.

Ofer Shelah (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Ofer Shelah
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
On Friday, Blue and White MK Ofer Shelah said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “wants direct elections to buy [himself] a few more months of immunity,” adding, “everything else is lies and deception.”
“Bibi accuses us of dragging Israel into elections. Here's the truth: He had his 25-day mandate and he did nothing,” Shelah continued.
Netanyahu gave Interior Minister MK Aryeh Deri the go-ahead on advancing a direct election between him and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, Channel 12 reported on Friday.
Senior right-bloc members looked to direct elections for prime minister, while Netanyahu said he was still in favor of a unity government on Tuesday.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu is not promoting a law for direct elections; rather, he is working on forming a broad national unity government, the only government that can be established and what the State of Israel needs at this time,” said a Likud spokesperson.
Lahav Harkov and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.