From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 15, 2026
Lapid: ‘There’s never been a more absolute failure than Netanyahu’s diplomatic failure on the Iranian front’
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost the war” and “collapsed in the moment of truth,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid claims, criticizing the emerging ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran.
“The State of Israel won the battle; Netanyahu lost the war. The Israel Defense Forces fulfilled its missions, Netanyahu failed to deliver the goods,” Lapid tells reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting.
“There has never, ever, been a more absolute failure than Netanyahu’s diplomatic failure on the Iranian front. The time has come for us to recognize the fact that Netanyahu simply cannot do it anymore,” Lapid continues, complaining of “an American president openly and publicly telling the prime minister of Israel: ‘I am your boss, and you will do what you are told.'”
This puts Israel in the difficult situation of having to choose between its right to self-defense and a confrontation with its greatest ally, he continues, insisting that under a Bennett-Lapid government “we wouldn’t have gotten into [this situation] in the first place.”
Slamming the prime minister for allegedly surrounding himself with clowns, cynics and people who “received money from Qatar,” Lapid says that “on October 7, 2023, we learned that Netanyahu can no longer protect the security and lives of Israel’s citizens. On June 15, 2026, we learned that he can no longer manage a diplomatic campaign.”
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