According to a report by The Times of Israel, opposition Leader Yair Lapid has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, calling on the government to apologize to the people of Israel.
Speaking ahead of his Yesh Atid party's weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Lapid criticized the government's actions, particularly following a chaotic session in the Knesset the previous day.
"The government will fall," Lapid declared. "Everyone who was in the Knesset yesterday understood that it will not take long." He acknowledged that his prediction last year about the government's collapse in 2024 did not come to fruition but reiterated that his forecast was only wrong about the timing. "I was only wrong about the date, and I have no intention of apologizing," Lapid asserted.
The opposition leader specifically targeted Ben Gvir, calling him a "TikTok clown" for his behavior during the Knesset session. According to Lapid, Ben Gvir mocked Netanyahu in front of the nation, which further undermined the authority of the already weakened prime minister. "We saw what happened here yesterday. A pale and weak prime minister, and Ben Gvir was making fun of him in front of the nation," Lapid said, describing the scene as indicative of the dysfunction within the government.
Lapid continued to lambast the coalition, which he described as "a sick, corrupt, dysfunctional body, the most extreme and failed government in the history of the country." He claimed that the coalition's members were only holding on to power because they feared that if elections were held, most of them would fail to secure re-election. "This government has lost the public's trust," Lapid said.
The remarks came as Netanyahu was recovering from prostate surgery. Despite his condition, Netanyahu briefly left the hospital the previous evening to cast a crucial vote on a budget-related bill, after Ben Gvir announced that he would oppose it. The bill ultimately passed by a narrow margin of one vote.
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