From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 8, 2024
Lapid reiterates to PM he will provide him with political safety net to make hostage deal
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam 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 Yair Lapid reiterates his offer to provide Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political safety net in order to advance a potential hostage deal despite the opposition of the premier’s far-right allies.
“There’s a hostage deal on the table. It is not true that Netanyahu has to choose between the hostage deal and his continued tenure as prime minister. I promised him a safety net, and I will keep that promise,” Lapid tells reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting.
“This is not an easy statement, and it is not an easy decision. Netanyahu is a bad, failed prime minister, and he is to blame for the October 7 disaster, but the most important thing is to bring the kidnapped people back home,” he continues.
“The announcement that Netanyahu issued yesterday was destructive and harmful and above all unnecessary,” he adds, referring to the prime minister’s statement yesterday drawing his government’s red lines ahead of the resumption of talks.
“The hostage deal has a large majority of the people [in favor], it has a large majority here in the Knesset, it has to happen. We are coming back and offering Netanyahu a political safety net to make the deal — now,” Lapid says.
The Times of Israel Community.