Lapid bashes Netanyahu for English-language ad ‘against the State of Israel’

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is denouncing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu for an English-language video stumping against government legislation, a clip he says crosses the bounds of acceptable criticism by undermining the country’s international efforts.

“When Israel was fighting the nuclear deal, I was head of the opposition and stood alongside the government. Now opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu is running a campaign in English against the State of Israel and Israeli democracy and putting a lot of money behind it, as is his wont,” he complains at a Yesh Atid faction meeting. “I can’t remember damage like this with timing like this. This is a shameful embarrassment and every Israeli patriot should condemn it.”

Other government figures have also attacked Netanyahu for releasing the video over the past week. Likud has responded by pointing out instances of internal Israel criticism being picked up by the international press, facetiously calling it “absurd.”

Lapid also denies claims of hundreds of thousands of people being in quarantine due to the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant, and says he does not envision the country locking down.