Israeli opposition leader Lapid to travel to US, meet top officials
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Yair Lapid's spokesperson says that the former prime minister will discuss the prisoner exchange talks during his trip wot Washington.
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Israeli opposition Leader Yair Lapid (R) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet in Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine on November 30, 2023 (AFP)
Israeli opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid is set to travel to the United States next week to meet senior White House officials, in addition to bipartisan senators, and officials, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
“The goal of Lapid’s visit is to ensure the subject of a deal to return hostages remains present on the international public agenda,” his spokesperson said.
Lapid criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government last week as "not interested in ending the war because it frees them from having to confront [internal] challenges."
Read more: Netanyahu new demands to take talks back to square one: Hamas official
During a session for the Yesh Atid party bloc, he stressed that "a prisoner exchange deal should be reached," adding that "ending the war is in Israel's interest from political, security, and economic standpoints."
The opposition leader had previously stated that the premier's actions were a "deliberate and dangerous act of sabotage of the possibility of reaching a hostage deal."
Day of terrible failure
A former Knesset member from the Likud Party warned earlier this month that the Israeli political and military leaders continue their failed policies without any change, a situation that "exacerbates the security and social crisis and harms hope and public safety,"
In an article published in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Ehud Yatom described it as a "scandal" that officials remained in their positions following the "day of the terrible failure" on October 7.
Read more: Protesters against Netanyahu demand exchange deal, early elections
Yatom expressed surprise that Israeli PM Netanyahu continues to hold office, holding him fully accountable, saying, "Don’t give us excuses—the fish rots from the head [meaning the leadership is to blame]."
He added that even after the war has entered its 11th month, Netanyahu continues to manage "Israel's" affairs, determine the fate of prisoners, and shoulder "the full responsibility," yet he has not acknowledged the need to accept this responsibility.
