US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria demonstrates his disregard for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition Yisrael Beytenu party leader, MK Avigdor Liberman, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is “merely a terrorist from al-Qaeda” who committed a “massacre of Alawites” and, without Israeli intervention, would have “massacred Druze people as well,” Liberman said.
Other examples of Trump disregarding Netanyahu included the direct US negotiations with Hamas, the US deal with the Houthis that did not include Israel, Trump’s Middle East visit not including Israel, and ongoing negotiations with Iran, Liberman said.
Asked why he thought Trump was disregarding Netanyahu, Liberman mentioned that Trump has repeatedly declared that he wants to be a “peacemaker,” contrary to Netanyahu’s wish to expand the operation in Gaza.
Liberman added that he supported a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages, but stressed that Israel should continue targeting Hamas members who participated in the October 7 massacre.
They should “not die a natural death,” he said.
Liberman also commented on the fact that the IDF has yet to draft eligible haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men despite the law requiring it to do so.
Liberman on IDF not drafting eligible haredi men despite the law
He directed his criticism at IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, saying that he expected Zamir to recruit everyone equally.
In the future, Liberman said, he policy will be to ensure that every 18-year-old be required to report for either military or civilian service, with the IDF taking precedence.
This would pertain to all parts of Israeli society, including Israel’s Arab-speaking population. In addition, people who evade doing either type of service should not be given the right to vote in national elections, Liberman said.
He cited as precedent the fact that prisoners in the US do not have voting rights, and argued that the rights had to come alongside the fundamental requirement to do national service.