According to Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, the time has come for Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet to leave office.
Posting on X, he noted, “We need to establish a national reconstruction government. Likud will lead it, Netanyahu and the extremists will be replaced.”
Lapid said that the Israeli army and the public have been showing resilience since the October 7 attack but “the weak link is the government, and especially the Prime Minister”.
“I hear the voices saying this is not the time. We waited 40 days, there is no more time. What we need right now is a government that will deal with nothing but security and the economy. We cannot afford another election in the coming year.”
Yair Lapid
Benny Gantz, one of the war cabinet’s ministers, said on Monday that calls to replace the prime minister were “nothing less than crazy.”
Apart from the social media post, the Israeli opposition leader asserted his call for Netanyahu’s resignation in an interview with an Israeli channel.
“Netanyahu should leave immediately… We need change, Netanyahu cannot remain Prime Minister,” Lapid stated.
He maintained that Israelis cannot allow themselves to have a Prime Minister who “has lost the public’s trust, whether from a social or a security point of view.”
Lapid accused Netanyahu and the security apparatus under his leadership of an “unpardonable failure” for not preventing the Hamas’ deadly attack on October 7, 2023.
This is the first time Lapid has urged Netanyahu to quit since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.
Lapid’s comments are the latest sign of growing discord within Israel’s political establishment.
One of the difficult issues has been Netanyahu’s refusal to take any responsibility for the failures that led to Hamas’s assault. Others, however, say the matter should be dealt with once the conflict is over.
“The people who are running things right are the defense establishments. This government is dysfunctional,” Lapid asserted.
“We need to change the government,” he added.
The opposition leader did not call for early elections but a motion of confidence in parliament, paving the way for a new government led by another member of Netanyahu’s party; Likud.
In a press release, Netanyahu’s party described such a proposal in a “time of war” as “shameful.”
Relatives Of Hostages Continue March To Netanyahu’s Office
Also on Thursday, relatives of hostages taken by Hamas in its October 7 attack on Israel continued a march from Tel Aviv to Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem as they plead for the release of their loved ones held captive in Gaza.
The march began on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, and is 40 miles long.
The families aim to march between the two cities over five days, camping in tents along the way and arriving outside Netanyahu’s office on Saturday.
Family members hold posters of their loved ones and many wear T-shirts with their relatives’ faces on and the words “bring [name of captive] home now!”
Part of Thursday’s march includes paying a shiva call to the Marciano family in Modi’in, which is mourning the loss of their soldier daughter Noa Marciano, who died in Hamas captivity.
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