He said: "I killed many Arabs and I don't see a problem with that": Who is Naftali Bennett?
Naftali Bennett, the 51-year-old former Prime Minister of Israel with a religious nationalist line, is known for his far-right anti-Palestinian views. Bennett, who served as prime minister of Israel from June 13, 2021, to June 30, 2022, has led the New Right party since 2018.
Bennett, who entered politics in 2005 as Benjamin Netanyahu's deputy, unseated Netanyahu, who had been Prime Minister for 12 years, when he received a vote of confidence from the parliament in 2021.
Bennett, a former commando in the Israeli army, is also the owner of the statement, "I have killed many Arabs and I see no problem with it."
The Israeli politician, who became a dollar millionaire with the technology company he founded from scratch, appealed to far-right voters throughout his career.
Naftali Bennett (born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the 3rd Alternate Prime Minister of Israel from 1 July to 8 November 2022. Bennett served as the leader of the New Right party from 2018 to 2022, having previously led The Jewish Home party between 2012 and 2018.
Bennett, who also advocates that some parts of the West Bank, the occupied Palestinian territory, should be annexed to Israel, held many positions in the past Netanyahu governments, including the ministries of Economy and National Education.
Bennett, whose parents were born in the USA, has always made headlines with his aggressive tone against Palestinians throughout his political career. Bennett was elected leader of the Jewish Home Party in 2012.
Naftali Bennett said in 2013, "I have killed many Arabs and I do not see a problem with this. Palestinian terrorists should be killed rather than released."
Arguing that the West Bank is "not under occupation and there is no state called Palestine", Bennett changed the name of the Jewish Home party to Yamina in 2018 and took part in the coalition led by Netanyahu.
Bennett, who is described as an extreme nationalist and says he sees himself further to the right of Netanyahu, supports Israel becoming a Jewish nation-state. He claims that his country has cultural and historical rights to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, which have been under Israeli occupation since the 6-Day War in 1967.
Bennett, who speaks fluent English, frequently appeared on foreign TV channels defending Israel's practices against Palestinians.
The combative Bennett once told an Arab politician in the Israeli Parliament, "While you were still hanging from the trees, there was a Jewish state in this land."
Bennett is against the two-state solution that envisions the establishment of a Palestinian state. Although US President Joe Biden and most of the international community support this, Bennett is of the opinion that such a solution will not come to the Israel-Palestine Problem, which he once likened to "shrapnel stuck in the hip".
November 5, 2023
Bennett: World opinion is no longer with us
In his post on his account on the X platform, Bennett stated that his country's situation is not good in the international arena.
"The world public opinion is no longer with us." Using the statement, Bennett emphasized that pro-Palestinian content is 15 times more than pro-Israeli content on the TikTok platform.
Bennett stated that he would hold contacts in New York and Washington to support the Israeli government.