Lieberman: Billions given to Haredi parties only perpetuate poverty
After announcing he would not join Netanyahu's coalition, outgoing FM says he 'does not care' whether narrow government will last full term.
A day after announcing that he would not be joining the new government, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman lashed out at the coalition agreement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brokered with the religious parties, saying he is pouring billions of shekels in a system that does nothing to address the poverty in the sector.
"I support integrating ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli society and the work force. I would support taking NIS 5 billion from United Torah Judaism towards creating jobs. But (the billions of shekels) only perpetuate poverty," he said
Speaking as time began to run out for Netanyahu to form a new government, Lieberman also told Ynet that he "does not care" whether the new government lasts its full term. The prime minister has until midnight on Wednesday to form what appears will be a narrow 61-member government.
"There were narrow governments in the past. Is it feasible to be able to run the country and function in such a formation? I don't know and don't care," the outgoing foreign minister said.
Explaining his decisions to resign as foreign minister and not join Netanyahu's government, Lieberman said: "A word is a word; it's a way of life. We recommended Netanyahu for prime minister without specifying any special requests, and said that we wanted to be part of the coalition – but not at any price."
The outgoing foreign minister also pointed a finger at Likud, saying that members of the party were responsible for the prolonged coalition negotiations with his Yisrael Beytenu party. "The Likud stretched out the negotiations. We were prepared to sign a coalition agreement early on."
Lieberman further noted that, "During the elections there were discussions on the defense portfolio – I wanted to be defense minister but understood that with six seats, that was impossible. So we compromised," he said, adding that his party chose "principles over portfolios".
The coalition agreement Netanyahu has signed with United Torah Judaism effectively cancels out the achievements of the previous government in which Lieberman served. Under the deal, the new government will freeze ongoing reforms to Israel's conversion laws, cancel the cuts to children's benefits and revoke the criminal penalties in the universal enlistment law.
