After Yesh Atid MKs support no-confidence motion, party says it opposes such votes in wartime

By Sam Sokol 9 March 2026, 3:46 pm

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Sam 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 leads a Yesh Atid party faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on February 23, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party comes out against no-confidence motions against the government during wartime, after coalition whip Ofir Katz slammed its MKs for voting in support of such a motion advanced by the Knesset’s Arab factions this afternoon.

In a statement, a spokesman for Yesh Atid tells The Times of Israel that the party is no longer bringing no-confidence motions and “the faction’s position is not to vote in favor of no-confidence motions” during the conflict with Iran.

The spokesman further clarifies when asked that two party MKs voted in favor of the motion “by accident.”

Speaking with The Times of Israel, Yesh Atid MK Moshe Tur-Paz says that the party’s approach was not to vote on such proposals.

A spokeswoman for Katz sent reporters a video of Hadash-Ta’al chairman Ayman Odeh criticizing the war with Iran during the debate over his motion, in which the Arab MK could be heard asking lawmakers “if the government didn’t succeed in Gaza, will it succeed in Iran? They’re always looking for an enemy.”

“And who voted in favor? Yesh Atid MKs, unbelievable,” Katz said in an accompanying statement.

After the outbreak of the latest fighting with Iran the heads of Israel’s political opposition rallied around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the military, with Lapid stating on February 28 that “we are all united on the operation.”