Smotrich warns Winter and attacks Avi Gil: "A bunch of nonsense"

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attacked former military secretary Avi Gil in an interview at the "Israel Stage" conference, calling his statements "a bunch of lies" and accusing him of reflecting defeatist positions in the cabinet. Meanwhile, Smotrich called on Ofer Winter to show responsibility and avoid an independent run that would endanger the right-wing bloc, and attacked Itamar Ben Gvir for clashing with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attacked former military secretary Avi Gil in an interview at the "Israel Stage" conference hosted by Walla, Maariv, and the Jerusalem Post, calling his statements "a bunch of lies, that never happened." Smotrich accused Gil of reflecting defeatist positions in the cabinet and of opening his mouth two weeks before the elections after three years of silence. Gil had claimed in a previous interview that protocols were altered in Netanyahu's office and that hostages died for political reasons. Smotrich called on Ofer Winter to show responsibility and avoid an independent run that would endanger the right-wing bloc, and attacked Itamar Ben Gvir for clashing with Prime Minister Netanyahu, which he said was intended to take votes from Netanyahu. The full interview will air on October 15.