Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid stated today, Thursday, that the time has come to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that there will be widespread support for forming a unity government led by Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party. Lapid, who belongs to the centrist stream and briefly served as prime minister last year, believes that a significant majority of Knesset members in the 120-seat parliament would support such a coalition government.
Lapid's remarks come as Israel continues its military assault on Gaza following the surprise attack by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on southern Israel on October 7. He wrote on "X": "The time has come; we need to form a national reconstruction government. It will be led by Likud, Netanyahu and the extremists will be replaced, and more than 90 Knesset members will be partners in the coalition for recovery and reconnection."
He added: "I hear people saying that the time has not come. We waited 40 days; no more time. What we need is a government that will deal with nothing but security and the economy." He pointed out that "we cannot afford another election cycle next year during which we will continue to fight and explain why the other side is a disaster."
Likud is the largest party in Israel's ruling coalition, which includes far-right and religious parties. Together, these parties hold 64 seats in the Knesset. Lapid declined to join the war cabinet formed by Netanyahu at the beginning of the war, despite other centrist members in the Knesset agreeing to join and help manage the conflict.
