MK Lapid blasts ‘dangerous’ Netanyahu at election campaign launch

At a speech in Tel Aviv marking the launch of the Yesh Atid campaign for the April 9 elections, party leader MK Yair Lapid says it is “dangerous” to let an indictment-rattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retain his seat.

“We’re here to win,” Lapid says, adding “there is too much at stake. We will win because most of the citizens of Israel don’t want a prime minister who is only interested in his own indictments. They’re honest. They understand that it’s dangerous that he’s trying to take apart the rule of law.”

“It’s dangerous that he’s attacking the attorney general that he appointed, the state prosecutor he appointed, the chief of police he appointed, the states’ witnesses who were the people closest to him, the police, the courts, even the officers of the IDF. He attacked me as well. I’m proud to be part of that list,” Lapid says.

He mocked Netanyahu’s prime time televised demand last night to confront the state’s witnesses who testified to police against him. “Did you see him yesterday on TV? Yesterday we got the final proof that someone suspected of serious crimes cannot be prime minister. It wasn’t a ‘dramatic’ announcement [as Netanyahu called it], it was a hysterical announcement. I’ve known Bibi for years, he’s cracking under the pressure. A country with complex challenges cannot afford a prime minister with frayed nerves. We won’t let him drag the country down with him.”

“After yesterday,” Lapid says, “it’s clear that we can’t carry on like this. He won’t address anything that affects the real lives of real people. It doesn’t interest him. It does interest us. It’s the only thing that interests us. We will win because we work on what’s actually important…. Give us the keys, everything is ready…. Reduce the traffic jams, reduce waiting times in hospitals. Restore our deterrence in the face of Hamas. To go to a regional conference and start to separate from the Palestinians. To put an end to Haredi coercion. We will cancel the mini market law, bring back the equality of national burden bill, bring back the study of English and math.”

— Raoul Wootliff