JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday said Israel is facing a “collapse,” urging a swift replacement of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

“From Washington, D.C., I report that Israel is collapsing,” Bennett said on his X account.

Bennett, who served as premier from June 2021 to June 2022, claimed that he is “confronting a tsunami of accusations, a hunger narrative pushed by Hamas and the UN, and fabricated images and lies about Israel.”

Criticizing members of Netanyahu’s coalition, Bennett said: “They are inflicting terrible damage through reckless statements like ‘We will wipe out Gaza’ and ‘Drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza,’ all to score political points with their base.”

“Even the effort to drag out the war in Gaza, as though we had unlimited time, is causing us grave harm.”

“The conclusion is clear: the only way out of this hole is to replace this destructive government as soon as possible and set the country on a new path.”

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years, and since March 2 has shut down all crossings, worsening humanitarian conditions for the territory’s 2.4 million population.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 147 Palestinians, including 88 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition since October 2023.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.