Bennett: Gantz, Yaalon, Opposed Demolishing Hamas Tunnels

New Right Party chairman Naftali Bennett said Tuesday that both Benny Gantz and Moshe Yaalon – respectively the IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister during the period of 2014’s Operation Protective Edge – refused to demolish Hamas’ terror tunnels during the initial days of the war. “The operation could have been completed in 5 days instead of the 50 days it took,” Bennett told Army Radio.

Both Gantz and Yaalon have established political parties – the former the Israel Resilience Party, and the latter Telem. Gantz is expected to announce his party platform Tuesday night.

“I brought the Security Cabinet a detailed plan on demolishing the tunnels, but both Gantz and Yaalon refused to consider it,” said Bennett. “It was only after a long period that they agreed to the operation of destroying the tunnels. If we had listened to them and kept the tunnels we would find ourselves faced with dozens of kidnappings in the Gaza border area.” Gantz has a “very dangerous view of security,” Bennett said. “He has the attitude of an ostrich,” ignoring problems as they build, and dealing with them only when they are too big to contain, he added.

According to Channel 12 news, Gantz in his speech Tuesday will concentrate on what he calls the “corruption” of the administration of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. According to the report, Gantz will say that the corruption of the government “is dividing the nation. A long-term administration, such as Netanyahu’s, encourages corruption,” and will advocate a two-term cap for any Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Hatenuah head Tzippy Livni on Tuesday kicked off her party’s campaign, much along the same lines. “Netanyahu and his partners are turning Israel into a state that is not Jewish and not democratic. To keep both those values I will continue to advocate separation from the Palestinians. Israeli society faces a dangerous situation that is squeezing us from both sides, of ideology mixed with criminal intent,” set on destroying the justice system,” she said, adding that she was the only force in politics that could prevent this from happening.