Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, at a faction meeting of his Yisrael Beitenu party on Monday afternoon, spoke out against the government and its defense policies.

Lieberman argued that Israel is buying temporary quiet at a heavy price, pointing to recent rocket fire as evidence. He claimed that Hamas is rebuilding its terror infrastructure, with “tacit approval” from the government.

Israel’s former top diplomat continued to predict that not only would there be a war with Hamas in the summer of 2016, but that the current government would not last even that long.

Lieberman, who was once Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office under Netanyahu, predicted that the government would fall by the end of this year.

Yisrael Beitenu opted to not join the current coalition in May, after having a number of disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party during negotiations.

Lieberman has since consistently criticized Netanyahu for not truly representing right wing policies.

During the election campaign, Lieberman advocated for executing convicted terrorists, and land transfer of areas heavily populated by Israeli-Arabs. His positions were not endorsed by other right-wing parties.

As a result of not joining Netanyahu’s coalition, Yisrael Beitenu now sit in the opposition. Their partners include left-wing party Meretz and the Joint Arab List.

By Zack Pyzer
Tazpit News Agency