From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 5, 2024
Lapid tells Netanyahu he’s willing to serve as ‘safety net’ to ensure approval of hostage deal
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"
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is willing to serve as a “safety net” for the governing coalition, in order to allow the government to agree to a deal to free the hostages from Gaza.
“I told the prime minister — I am not interested in portfolios, I was foreign minister, I was finance minister, I was prime minister. I am interested in one thing — returning the hostages,” Lapid announces following a meeting with Netanyahu.
“And if he needs a safety net of any kind from me — by entering the government, from the outside, in any way — just tell me. Because the important thing is to return the hostages,” he states, reiterating a previous offer to enter the government to replace the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties if that is what is needed to secure the release of the hostages from Gaza.
Lapid’s comments come only hours after Netanyahu appears to dismiss the possibility of reaching a deal in the near term.
Speaking at his Likud party’s weekly faction meeting, Netanyahu stated that Israel has already secured the release of 110 of the hostages and will “continue to act on this issue, but that Hamas has demands that we will not agree to.”
“The key to their freedom should be similar to the previous agreement,” he states, arguing that the remaining hostages’ return “will not be realized at any cost.”
