Was Israeli PM Netanyahu removed by deep state?
Likud MK: I cant see any way to prevent change government, Netanyahus ouster  Parasites, swindlers helped by deep state: pro-Netanyahu MKs opposed to incoming coalition lash out against its leaders, particularly PM-designate Bennett  Likud MK: I cant see any way to prevent change government, Netanyahus ouster 'Parasites,' 'swindlers' helped by 'deep state': pro-Netanyahu MKs opposed to incoming coalition lash out against its leaders, particularly PM-designate Bennett  In a stunning repeat of events, supporters of outgoing PM of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu also accused "deep state" for being behind removal of their beloved leader. We have already heard similar accusations by the followers of Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif and by the followers of US president Donald Trump:By TOI STAFF Today, 6:12 pmPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud MK Miki Zohar (R) at the Knesset in Jerusalem on November 20, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)But Zohar said Likuds decision Tuesday to reserve three spots on its electoral list for any eleventh-hour defectors was a kind of late-minute effort, pretty late, and pretty unlikely to succeed, in all honesty.I of course voted in favor of the move in order to keep that chance alive, but it was plainly too late, he continued. Things over there [in the change bloc] have been worked out and sealed, and will lead to a [change bloc] government.He also voiced support for Netanyahu staying on as Likud chairman to lead the party from the opposition benches until we can bring down this lousy government that has been formed.The moment this government falls and we head to elections, we can have leadership primaries [in Likud] and Netanyahu will be chosen again, Zohar said, though he stressed that, in his opinion, there is no need for Likud primaries as Netanyahu is the partys chosen leader.Likud MKs Shlomo Karhi (L) and Galit Distel attend a meeting of the Arrangements Committee at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on June 9, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)Zohars remarks came as a heated meeting of the Knesset Arrangements Committee approved a swearing-in for the emerging government on Sunday at 4 p.m. after the date was set by Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin of Likud.Members of pro-Netanyahu parties that are part of the outgoing government harshly attacked the incoming coalition, prompting committee chair MK Karine Elharrar of Yesh Atid to ask them to tone down their remarks.Accusing the emerging coalition of having the backing of the state prosecution and the media, Distel Atbaryan called Saar and Bennett opportunists who are like parasites on an organism, who misappropriated the public trust and went and took votes from the right to the left. So your victory is a sad one, weak and unreal.Addressing lawmakers of the change coalition, Likud MK Shlomo Karhi said: The government that you are going to set up is a government that not be established on a mandate for the people, but on a mandate that was stolen from the people.MK Michael Michaeli of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which is allied with Netanyahus Likud, said that whereas in the past children could be taught that the path to becoming prime minister is by leading the largest party in the Knesset and earning public trust, from now on the lesson will be that more of a swindler and liar you are the more chance you have of more quickly becoming the prime minister. Michaeli was referring to Bennett becoming prime minister with just six Knesset seats.Bennett, he accused, is a con man who lied to his voters and the Israeli people  and we will need to tell our children that this swindler is the prime minister because he cheated everybody.Shas MK Michael Michaeli reacts during a meeting of the Arrangements Committee at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on June 9, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)Committee chair Elharrar reprimanded the lawmakers. While acknowledging that criticism is welcome, she said this is the Israeli Knesset, let us try to ensure that the criticism is in the proper language. Calling people derogatory names is not appropriate in my view.More criticism came from Likud Minister David Amsalem who spoke in the Knesset plenum during a Wednesday session, telling lawmakers that he doesnt believe that Bennett, an Orthodox Jews, is really religious.David Amsalem (Hadas Parush/Flash90)What desecration of Gods name are you committing, Amsalem said. I never believed he was religious.As the so-called change government has become increasingly likely, right-wing social discourse has become increasingly alarmist, with frequent declarations that the government bringing together the right, center and left could doom Israel and bring about dark times; angry protests outside politicians homes; the burning of political posters; and allegations of treason issued via traditional and social media.On Sunday, Likud MK May Golan called Bennett and Saar suicide bombers during an interview with the Knesset channel. Golan said, in reference to the perception that the heads of Yamina and New Hope, respectively, have plummeted in popularity since allying with the center-left to oust Netanyahu from power. She said that while there is a world of difference, I would compare them to suicide bombers.Theyre like terrorists who dont believe in anything anymore, who go out on their suicide mission, and even if they know its their death sentence, they dont care because theyre Shiites, she said.Golan was apparently referring to a political death sentence but did not clarify the matter.Left to right: Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid (Miriam Alster/Flash90); Yamina party chief Naftali Bennett; and New Hope party head Gideon Saar (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)Her remarks came the day after Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman issued a rare warning against rising incitement and hate speech on social media, and the danger that it will spark political violence.This discourse may be interpreted among certain groups or individuals as one that allows violent and illegal activity and could even lead to harm to individuals, Argaman said.The parties in the prospective coalition hold a wafer-thin majority of 61 of the 120 votes. If confirmed, the unlikely alliance of right-wing, left-wing, centrist, and Islamist parties would remove Netanyahu from power, to be replaced by Yaminas Bennett, and, two years later, Lapid.