Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in Bnei Brak on Sunday following the violent incident in which IDF female soldiers were attacked, sharply criticizing the government and the chareidi parties. His visit quickly triggered a heated response from Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, who accused Bennett of inflaming tensions and called for his immediate removal from the city.

Speaking in Bnei Brak, Bennett said: “A grave line has been crossed in Israel. Here, in the heart of the country in Bnei Brak — not in Ramallah — a violent mob chased IDF female soldiers, humiliated them and tried to lynch them. Not in Shechem, not in Ramallah — here in Bnei Brak, against our soldiers.”

He continued: “This is what happens when people sense that draft evasion is winning. There is an address for this; it did not happen in a vacuum. Netanyahu and the chareidi parties — what did you think would happen? When you turned a blind eye to the calls of ‘We will die and not enlist,’ what did you think would happen? What did you think would happen when you ignored violence directed at chareidi soldiers who do enlist?”

Bennett added: “Everyone who was involved in this incident will be thrown into jail as quickly as possible. And I say in the clearest terms: under my leadership there will be no place for anarchy or violence. Everyone will serve, everyone will enlist, everyone will uphold the law — and that is how we will unite the State of Israel.”

Deri responded angrily, calling Bennett’s visit a political stunt. In a sharply worded statement, he said: “I call on the Police Commissioner to immediately issue a restraining order barring Naftali Bennett from the streets of Bnei Brak.

“This inciter and agitator came to the city to inflame tensions and exploit a painful situation in order to gather votes for himself. This despicable man, who stops at nothing, is the last person who should be present at this scene.”

Bennett replied to Deri’s demand, stating: “The problem is not Deri, who has grown accustomed to acting as if he owns the country, but Netanyahu, who sold it to him. When Deri calls on healthy young chareidi men not to dare enlist to help IDF soldiers, Netanyahu remains silent, backs him, and advances a draft law that abandons our soldiers.”

Shas officials were quick to counter with a forceful rebuttal: “Bennett, how dare you speak about ‘selling the country,’ after you disgracefully sold it to Mansour Abbas in exchange for the prime minister’s seat? The public has not forgotten. When you disguised yourself as right-wing, you passionately defended Torah scholars, whom Rabbi Deri spoke about, and the merits they bring to the Jewish people. The moment the right expelled you from its ranks, you joined the left and became the fiercest attacker of the Torah world and an agent of national chaos.

“Your cynical use of IDF soldiers and bereaved families is no less severe than your arrival in Bnei Brak to dance on the blood of the divisions you created. It seems there is no depth to which you have not descended.”

{Matzav.com}