Haaretz: Netanyahu is Unqualified and Untrustworthy

SadaNews - The Haaretz newspaper reported that State Auditor Matanyahu Engelman was lenient with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by publishing a relatively lenient audit report regarding the government's failure to respond effectively to the public after the October 7, 2023 attack.

The Auditor's Office concluded that "successive governments over the past 17 years, most of which were headed by Netanyahu, failed to learn the lessons and did not implement the necessary recommendations to create effective infrastructure capable of managing the Israeli home front."

The newspaper questioned in its editorial: Why this "leniency?" Indicating that Netanyahu deserves much harsher criticism, and that the failure to manage the home front is not a coincidence given the existence of a bloated government, which includes 33 ministers, 5 governmental ministries with overlapping authorities, and the appointment of unsuitable individuals to key positions.

The newspaper saw this as evidence of the ongoing negligence manifested in the security and political failure that led to the events of October 7, noting that criticisms were directed at Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the former director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, Yossi Shelley.

Netanyahu, who is evading the consequences of the government inquiry committee that must be formed, chose to attack Engelman and play the victim, as usual - according to the newspaper - stating that "the Prime Minister rejects the report's ridiculous conclusions and considers them irrelevant."

The newspaper clarified that Netanyahu's reaction to the report is no different from his response to criticisms directed at him regarding his absolute responsibility for the failures in general, and specifically for the biggest failure in Israel's history. Evasion of responsibility, blaming others, and tarnishing the reputation of anyone with the slightest expectation is his usual approach.

Haaretz expressed astonishment that the man who insists on saying "I ordered" evades responsibility whenever the public pays a heavy price for his failures, reminding that Netanyahu viewed Hamas as an asset and encouraged the injection of billions of dollars into it, which allowed it to strengthen its power, while at the same time humiliating and weakening the Palestinian Authority and preventing any progress on the diplomatic front.

Even Israelis who joined the struggle of the families of the captives were attacked by Netanyahu - according to the newspaper - he is the person who handed national security to the Kahanist Itamar Ben Gvir and handed the occupied territories to Bezalel Smotrich, stating shamelessly, "Organized political demonstrations against the government have crossed every line. They said they would surround my home, the Prime Minister's residence, with a ring of fire."

Source: Haaretz