Lapid says Netanyahu inciting violence against Blue and White members

Yair Lapid, Blue and White’s number 2, calls out Netanyahu and accuses him of inciting violence.

“The words coming out of Netanyahu’s mouth in the past few days are incitement to violence,” he tells his party’s faction meeting. “They are words spoken by followers of Baruch Goldstein, not by a prime minister. It will end badly. He knows it will end badly. He’s been there.

“If he’s not Prime Minister then it’s a terror attack against Israel? If he doesn’t live in [the prime minister’s residence on] Balfour [Street] it’s an Iranian victory? He’s quoting Khamenei. ‘The eradication of the Zionist regime’? Have you lost your mind? You’re recruiting Khamenei to your campaign?”

Lapid goes on to imply that Blue and White members could become targets of political violence, and lays the blame on Netanyahu.

“If, God forbid, something happens to one of the people sitting in this room, it’s because of Netanyahu,” he says. “He caused it. He can’t go on TV afterwards and say how shocked he is. It’s Netanyahu. It’s his incitement. If there’s violence, it’s Netanyahu. Whoever heard him yesterday knows that he’s leading to violence. What he said about the Arab citizens of Israel is racism and it’s intolerable.”

Lapid goes on to confirm the Channel 12 report earlier this afternoon regarding the emerging coalition agreement framework on religion and state between Blue and White and Yisrael Beytenu.

He continues: “I’m calling on Netanyahu — come and join us. Stop the incitement. Come and form a unity government. Give up your Haredi messianic bloc, be second in the rotation and we’ll form a government. We will have a government that’s strong on security, strong on the economy and strong on unity for the people of Israel.”