Former prime minister Naftali Bennett told a private audience of US students that the next government he would lead would not include Arab parties, emphasizing the need for Zionist parties to lead Israel. Bennett stated that a broad coalition of 90 Knesset members could put Israel on the right track, but it would not include Arab parties due to the ongoing war and the composition of those parties. He also criticized Netanyahu's policy of facilitating Qatari payments to Gaza and expressed his Iran policy of bombing their nuclear program. Bennett's comments were made during a private engagement at Columbia University, drawing over 200 protesters.