From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 8, 2024
Lapid urges Gantz’s party to quit government
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 calls on National Unity ministers Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot and Gideon Sa’ar to leave the coalition, declaring that “this government is not qualified to lead the war” and Prime Minister “Netanyahu is not qualified to lead the country.”
The former opposition lawmakers entered the government after October 7 “because they believed it was in the best interest of the country. It may have been true three months ago. It is certainly not true now,” he says.
“This is not a unity government, this is not an emergency government. They are not saving the State of Israel, they are saving Netanyahu.
“For weeks now, the poison machine of Netanyahu and his aides has been attacking the chief of staff, the army, the commanders and the fighters. Every meeting of the cabinet turns into a poisonous attack on the army,” he argues, adding that “as long as they are there, as long as they sit under Netanyahu, they give [his actions] legitimacy.”
Asked about MK Oded Forer’s effort to expel MK Ofer Cassif from the Knesset over his public support for a South African motion accusing Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice, Lapid says that while it has not been discussed by his party, he “assumes” that they will support such a move — adding that it is a “shame” that far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who suggested Israel could drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza, couldn’t also be kicked out.
