JERUSALEM: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must leave office, his predecessor Naftali Bennett has told a televised interview, refusing to say whether he intends to challenge the country's longest-serving leader in an election.
In an interview with Israel's Channel 12 that aired on Saturday, former prime minister Bennett said Netanyahu "has been in power for 20 years... that's too much, it's not healthy."
"He bears...heavy responsibility for the divisions in Israeli society", Bennett said of growing rifts within Israel under Netanyahu, who has a strong support base but also staunch opponents who have demanded his departure including over his handling of the Gaza war since October 2023.
Netanyahu "must go", said the former prime minister, a right-wing leader who in 2021 joined forces with Netanyahu critics to form a coalition that ousted him from the premiership after 12 consecutive years at the helm.
But the fragile coalition government Bennett had led along with current opposition chief Yair Lapid collapsed after about a year. Snap elections ensued, and Netanyahu again assumed the premiership with backing from far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.
Bennett, who has taken time off from politics, has been rumoured to be planning a comeback, with public opinion polls suggesting he may have enough support to oust Netanyahu again.
No vote is currently planned before late 2026, however, although early elections are common in Israel.
In his Saturday interview, Bennett claimed credit for laying the groundwork for Israel's bombardment campaign earlier this month against Iranian nuclear and military sites.
The decision to launch attacks against the Islamic republic "was very good" and "needed", said Bennett, claiming that the offensive would not have been possible without the work of his short-lived government.
In Gaza, where Israel has waged war since Hamas's October 2023 attack, Bennett said the military has displayed "exceptional" performance but "the political management of the country" was "a catastrophe, a disaster".
Criticising the Netanyahu government's "inability to decide", the former prime minister called for an immediate "comprehensive" agreement that would see all remaining hostages freed from Gaza.
"Leave the task of eliminating Hamas to a future government," said Bennett, who also evaded several questions about whether he intends to run for office.