Lapid not to join emergency govt following 'unpardonable failure'
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Opposition leader Yair Lapid expressed that his reasons for not joining are the continued presence of "extremists" in the hardline government.
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Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid arrives to testify at the trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges at the occupied al-Quds Israeli District Court, Monday, June 12, 2023 (AP Photo)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid reiterated his refusal to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz's national emergency government, claiming that it would not function with its existing structure and composition.
In a televised address to Israeli settlers amid Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza that has so far killed hundreds of civilians and bombed civilian infrastructure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli government has put “every other consideration to the side” for illegal Israeli settlers.
In the address, in which he also announced the formation of an emergency government, Netanyahu threatened “every Hamas member” with death.
Lapid expressed that his reasons for not joining are the continued presence of "extremists" in the hardline government, as well as a security cabinet structure with no clear lines of authority, and those responsible for the "unpardonable failure" to prevent Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Lapid remarked it was necessary to “take the extremists out of the government of extremists.”
Lapid mentioned that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Independent Security Minister Bezalel Smotrich's positions in the cabinet are "no way to make decisions."
Lapid calls this “a structure that can’t work, it’ll just add to the mess,” because “instead of one cabinet, [there are] two cabinets that will clash.”
Touching on the massive security failure of "Israel" when Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was initiated, Lapid remarked that “what happened this last Shabbat is a failure without reparation,”adding that those “who started the failure can’t fix it.”
Israeli media: Netanyahu gov. gambles with lives of Israeli captives
In its editorial page, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz called on the Israeli government to urgently work for the release of settlers held captive by Hamas and the PIJ in the Gaza Strip.
"The meaning is clear: an immediate push for a prisoner exchange deal, with Israeli readiness to release the security prisoners held in Israel."
The newspaper added that the lethal retaliatory attack which the Israeli government is evidence that returning the captives is not a priority for the government at the moment.
Minister of Finance, Tzachi Hanegbi called on the IOF to "strike Hamas viciously and not give importance to the issue of the prisoners."
The newspaper warned the Israeli government and leadership against sacrificing the captives for the sake of attempting to save the dignity of the Israeli army.
The Israeli newspaper emphasized that "no government has the right to trade the lives of the missing and sacrifice them" especially the current Israeli government, describing it as "the most neglectful government" in the history of Israeli governments.
