Beyachad chairman Naftali Bennett set off a fresh fight inside the opposition bloc Sunday after saying he would be willing to have Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu serve as a minister in a government he leads. Hours later, he reversed course.

Speaking at an election conference hosted by the newspaper Hador, Bennett said he was not ruling out political cooperation with the prime minister.

“As long as our founding principles are accepted — I have no problem with Netanyahu being a minister in our government,” Bennett said. “By the way, in 2003 Mr. Netanyahu, truly, I say this to his credit, was one of the best finance ministers the State of Israel has had.”

He added: “I don’t know whether a Jew approaching 80 still has the energy for this, but if he accepts all of our central principles — an immediate state commission of inquiry, a draft for all, a constitution for Israel — he should pick up the phone.”

The pushback from his own camp came fast.

Democrats chairman Yair Golan wrote on X: “Netanyahu will not sit in any government as long as it depends on the Democrats. Not as finance minister, not as water minister and not as minister without portfolio. The man responsible for the October 7 failure, who led a government that advanced mass draft-dodging during wartime and the regime coup, will not receive any legitimacy from us to return to power. We will not sit with Netanyahu and his partners. Period.”

Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman said: “I call on my colleagues in the Zionist bloc to make it unequivocally clear — the world can turn upside down and we will not sit with Netanyahu. In the next government, Netanyahu will not be able to serve even as minister for regional cooperation.”

Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, who also addressed the conference, rejected the idea as well: “I don’t accept that. Anyone who held office on October 7 is not fit to serve in positions of command and leadership, including as finance minister.”

Several hours later, Bennett issued a clarification: “I suggest everyone calm down. I have said a thousand times that Netanyahu bears direct and personal responsibility for the October 7 massacre and therefore he must go home. We will not sit with him in any constellation.”