Likud accuses Lapid of ‘misleading’ public after his meeting with Netanyahu said to ‘blow up’ over how to raise extra funds for IDF

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party accuses Opposition Leader Yair Lapid of “misleading the public” by suggesting that the premier’s request for additional defense funding could necessitate a tax hike.

In a meeting today, Netanyahu asked Lapid to support the increased funding, but Lapid said he wouldn’t do so if it meant raising taxes, and asked the premier to instead allocate the money from funds meant for his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners.

“Lapid’s claims are baseless and false,” says Netanyahu’s party in a statement. “State revenues were higher than expected as a result of the government’s economic policies, and consequently, the deficit was also lower than expected. Under these circumstances, the defense budget can be increased without raising taxes.”

Likud says that the requested increase in funds is far larger than the money allocated to coalition funds or ultra-Orthodox budgets.

“Lapid is abandoning Israel’s security because of cheap political considerations,” says Likud.

The statement from Likud appears to contradict a Channel 12 report that Netanyahu admitted in the meeting that there was no source for the additional money for the IDF, and said the defecit would need to be increased. The report, which does not cite sources, says the meeting “blew up” after Lapid called for cutting coalition funds.

Notably, the statement comes from Likud and not from the Prime Minister’s Office, the source for Netanyahu’s official statements.