Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman at a graduation ceremony of the National Security College on July 13, 2016. Photo: Flash90.

JNS.org – Likud Knesset members railed against Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigor Lieberman in Israeli media on Thursday morning, hours after his refusal to join Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition forced Israel into new elections next September.

“This is one of the biggest farces in politics” Likud MK Miki Zohar said in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio. He warned that Lieberman “will pay the price in the end.”

On Kan Bet radio, Likud MK Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said Lieberman had demanded three ministers and five portfolios as the price for his entry into the coalition.

“[Lieberman] decided that he was not interested in entering the government, so he set conditions that were clearly impossible,” said Levin.

Mako reported that Lieberman’s party lashed back at Levin, calling him “the utmost liar during the coalition talks.”

However, Likud MK Yoav Kisch told Army Radio that Lieberman premeditated his estrangement from the coalition, in a bid to topple Netanyahu.

“Lieberman got everything he requested,” said Kisch. “He wanted elections. There was no connection to the draft bill, all he wanted was to bring down Netanyahu.”