Netanyahu tells Olmert to start working
In meeting with Likud members, opposition leader slams government's passive attitude; 'You have to do the work, not just show up,' he tells prime minister
"It is clear that the present government is failing, one failure after another, each day a new failure. Now they are going on a PR campaign," opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday evening in a speech to Likud members in Tel Aviv, hoping his party would provide the alternative to the present government.
Netanyahu also attacked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert specifically, saying "you have to do the work, not just show up."
"Today's Likud has no camps, no deals, no gangs. Now we need to get more members and expand the party," he said.
Stressing the importance of expanding his party, Netanyahu said, "In the Likud, we cleaned our stables before elections. I don't want to think about where we would be today if we hadn't done that…we are the biggest party in the country.
"I want each and every one, beyond the work they already do, to bring members in to the Likud. It is very important that the Likud expands."
A big part of Netanyahu's speech was dedicated to the burning political matter of the Palestinian unity government.
"The most important job we have to do, is to determine our position. A few weeks ago there was the Mecca agreement, and what did the government say? 'We neither accept nor reject.' What's going on in the region, on every front, compels active policy, not passive. We are expected to act and decide, to bring the Hamas government down," he said.
Netanyahu said the siege on the Palestinian government should be strengthened.
"We need to make it clear for any initiative that arises, that Israel is not negotiating its existence. Talking about the right of return means negotiation on Israel's right to exist.
"Anyone who wants to negotiate for peace, must completely forget about the right of return. Only then will there be a chance for peace... This is a different political attitude that the one this government is muttering," the Likud leader said.
