From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 20, 2025
‘Who was prime minister on October 7?’ Lapid assails Netanyahu after premier boasts of leading Israel to victory
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam 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"
Addressing the plenum at the opening of the winter parliamentary session, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had defended his running of the war in Gaza during his own speech, demanding to know, “Who was prime minister on October 7? The opposition?”
“We bombed in Iran. Who was the Prime Minister when Iran amassed its power? Hezbollah has 150,000 missiles. Who was the Prime Minister when Hezbollah amassed 150,000 missiles? We won the war. Who was the Prime Minister on October 7?”
“You talked about Iran but didn’t act. You can’t sell me stories,” Lapid declared. “I was in the Prime Minister’s office, we opened the drawers to look for the plans, and there was nothing.”
Lapid also omits Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana’s title, after Ohana pointedly referred to Supreme Court President Isaac Amit merely as a justice and not by his proper title.
Slamming Ohana, Lapid declares that he is “Speaker of only half the Knesset.”
“You know that’s not correct,” Ohana replies.
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