Lapid blasts Likud for 'lying' about concessions

Blue and White’s Yair Lapid hits back, accusing Likud of “lying” in saying the right-wing party was willing to make “major concessions” to form a unity government with the centrist alliance.

He says Netanyahu is not willing to relinquish his bloc of 55 lawmakers loyal to him, whose inclusion in a future government has been a condition for Likud in coalition talks. The prime minister is also unwilling to allow Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz to assume the role of prime minister first under a power-sharing deal, he says.

“You said ‘Bibi [Netanyahu] is first in the rotation [of prime minister], [United Torah Judaism’s Yaakov] Litzman and [National Union Bezalel] Smotrich are locked in, we won’t give up anything,’ and then publicly make up ‘concessions,'” tweets Lapid. “Let Bibi agree to go second in the rotation, and tomorrow there will be a government.”