Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Monday evening that Israel cannot be described simultaneously as a regional power steps from hegemony and as steps from annihilation — a contradiction he says stems from a weak government under Prime Minister Netanyahu. Lapid spoke after a statement by the prime minister, according to N12.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid sharpened his critique of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening, responding to a statement by the prime minister with a pointed accusation of incoherence. 'You can argue we are a regional power a step from hegemony, you can argue we are in danger of annihilation a step from mass death — but not both things, and certainly not a minute apart,' Lapid said, as reported by N12 political correspondent Daphna Liel.
The comment is the latest in a stream of opposition attacks on Netanyahu's handling of security and diplomacy. Over the past several hours, Lapid has previously slammed the prime minister's record on the Iran front as 'a total diplomatic failure' (at 16:30 Jerusalem), was joined by Gantz and Lieberman in opposition to the emerging U.S.-Iran agreement (14:42), and earlier called Netanyahu's government 'absolutely failed' (13:05). The prime minister's own Monday evening statement — in which he said Israel had collectively faced the danger of annihilation and pushed it away for years — appears to have triggered Lapid's latest salvo.
The dispute reflects deepening domestic political friction even as Israel faces security challenges on multiple fronts. Lapid did not offer policy specifics in the remark, focusing on what he called the 'main problem' — a strong country led by a weak government, which he said 'will be solved in the coming months.'
- DevelopingLapid hits back at Netanyahu: 'Claims we're a power one minute from mass death'
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- DevelopingLapid calls Netanyahu's Iran front a 'total diplomatic failure'
- DevelopingLapid says Bennett should lead Israel, citing generational change
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