Diaspora Affairs and Social Equality Minister Amichai Chikli accused U.S. President Joe Biden of fueling the massive demonstrations taking place across the country.
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Chikli, in an interview on Tuesday morning with the Kol Barama radio station, also charged that Biden's remarks in an interview on Sunday with CNN – in which he criticized the government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the judicial overhaul push – were made in coordination with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
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Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli arrives for a meeting at the Knesset
(Photo: Yonatan Zindel)
"President Biden's statements are timed with Yair Lapid and Ehud Barak. Biden's people coordinate with them every time they want to inflame the protest in Israel. Yair Lapid is one of the most harmful politicians who has arisen in the history of the State of Israel, an extreme and childish person," Chikli said.
Chikli also said that there is no point in returning to the President's Residence for further negotiations on judicial reform.
"Going to the President's Residence today for talks is irrelevant, today's bills are not far-reaching and there is no need for that." The wording of the president's speech two days ago was too dramatic for the issues at hand. We are in the most elitist protest in Israel's history. Our challenge now is less the police, but that people will pay a price," he said, threatening legal procedures against the protesters, comparing it to those who demonstrated against the disengagement.