MKs in future opposition parties throw barbs at Yesh Atid’s Lapid

The National Unity party lobs criticism at Yesh Atid chief Yair Lapid’s control over the opposition parties he is slated to represent as leader of the opposition.

An unnamed source from the National Unity party tells journalists that the party will “continue to do what is good for the country in a matter-of-fact way and not in a way that serves Lapid’s needs, which we have already seen where they lead.”

Lapid’s ideologically broad bloc lost to prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s 64 seats in the November 1 election.

“Lapid has proven that he has no ability to lead either the opposition or the coalition — we still haven’t heard him take responsibility for his failures,” says a source in National Unity. “He and his people are doing what they do best — slandering others,” the source says in a statement issued to several Hebrew media outlets.

Shortly after the Knesset was sworn in yesterday, Lapid gathered National Unity head Gantz, Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman, Labor leader Merav Michaeli and Ra’am chair Mansour Abbas for what his office dubbed a meeting of the head of opposition parties.

Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi met separately with Yesh Atid faction director Boaz Toporovsky. Hadash-Ta’al is not aligned with the Lapid-led bloc, but is a committed opposition party.

Tibi says today that “with all due respect to Yesh Atid, I don’t owe you anything.”

“You held a meeting of opposition leaders and someone forced you not to invite us at all, so do I owe you something? I don’t want to sit down with you for a coordination meeting at all,” Tibi says, referring to yesterday’s meeting.