Lapid says Netanyahu will ‘never’ be able to shirk responsibility for Oct. 7

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for refusing to establish a state commission of inquiry into October 7, painting him as a leader who avoids responsibility while seeking to benefit his family.

Addressing lawmakers following the prime minister during a 40-signature debate in the Knesset, Lapid notes the recent effort to appoint Netanyahu’s son Yair to a senior position at the World Zionist Organization.

“There was even a comical moment, when the prime minister said, ‘I didn’t know about it.’ Because it’s entirely plausible that a minister in the government would try to arrange a job for the prime minister’s son, but he probably forgot to tell the prime minister about it,” he says.

“On your watch, no one takes responsibility, no one says: ‘I apologize,’ ‘I’m ashamed,’ ‘It’s terrible, I know that if I’m at the head of the system, the responsibility is mine,'” Lapid continues, turning to Netanyahu’s refusal to establish a state commission of inquiry.

“It doesn’t occur to you. Someone who didn’t take responsibility for October 7, for the greatest disaster in our history, a disaster that happened on his watch, why would he take responsibility for something else?” Lapid asks — pledging, “We will never forget.”

“Anyone who was in a leadership position on October 7, 2023, cannot and will never be able to remove responsibility and blame from themselves. They need to go,” Lapid insists.

The heads of the IDF, Shin Bet and Defense Ministry have all gone, leaving only Netanyahu, “the one who really headed the system on October 7 and ignored all the warnings,” he adds.

Lapid asserts that this is why Netanyahu is doing everything he can to prevent the establishment of a powerful inquiry committee, because “there will be no escaping the truth: and the truth is that you are responsible and you are guilty and you need to go.”

The opposition leader also slams the government for supporting a bill aimed at regulating the enlistment of yeshiva students, asserting that it was in effect drafted by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party “in such a way that not a single Haredi person will enlist.”

Keeping the Haredim out of the army and workforce costs the government tens of billions of shekels a year and drafting them would provide a real solution to cost of living problems, he contends.

“Soon there will be a normal, efficient, functioning, and non-corrupt government here that will deal with what’s really important,” such as lowering the cost of living, he concludes.

“I know what you’re thinking — you think the public no longer cares. You don’t understand that it’s the opposite. The reason no one is shocked by anything anymore is because everyone knows what you are. Everyone understands — even your supporters — that this government is corrupt and rotten to the core,” he says.

“That’s what will bring you down: the public’s realization that everything is rotten. Nothing works, except your corruption operations. This is not a government for the good of the country — it’s a group of people who know the end is near, so each one is rushing to grab as much as he can before leaving the stage.”