Lapid reverses policy, introduces no-confidence motion against the government

By Sam Sokol 16 March 2026, 5:15 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Opposition Leader and head of the Yesh Atid party MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on March 16, 2026 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid introduces a no-confidence motion against the government in the Knesset, a week after his Yesh Atid party announced that its policy was “not to vote in favor of no-confidence motions” during the conflict with Iran.

“I didn’t want to submit a no-confidence motion today, but you left me no choice,” Lapid declares, arguing that he felt compelled to take such a step because the coalition is advancing controversial legislation unconnected to the war effort and transferring billions of shekels in coalition funds to the ultra-Orthodox community in the midst of an armed conflict.

“I did not want to submit a motion of no confidence. Not because I have confidence in the government, I have no confidence in it, but because it is not customary to submit motions of no confidence during a war, and it is certainly not customary to submit a motion of no confidence during a war with whose goals I agree [and] which I have been supporting for two and a half weeks,” he says, pledging to both support the war abroad and oppose the government’s legislative agenda at home.

The opposition rallied behind the government and the IDF following the outbreak of war with Iran late last month and, at first, it appeared that the coalition would scale down partisan political activity. All Knesset discussions and votes were suspended following the outbreak of hostilities on February 28, with parliamentary activity only resuming several days later, initially limited to discussions on war-related legislation, budgetary matters and necessary meetings of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

However, after a two-week halt, full parliamentary debate resumed Sunday with the coalition looking to push through a number of controversial bills, including legislation to overhaul the media market, split up the role of the attorney general, and establish a politically appointed panel to probe the failures surrounding the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.

Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset this afternoon, Lapid said the way the coalition is behaving is a “disgrace.”

“There is nothing more obvious than the government’s plan — that because of the war we will remain silent while they dismantle the country. It will not work. We will continue to support the security forces, but they will not succeed in silencing us,” he said.