This is the first time Lapid has urged Netanyahu to quit since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.
“Netanyahu cannot remain Israel’s prime minister. We need a national recovery government … he needs to go now. We cannot allow ourselves to have a Prime Minister who has lost the public’s trust, whether from a social or a security point of view,” Lapid stated in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12.
“The people who are running things right are the defense establishments. This government is dysfunctional,” he continued, adding, “We need to change the government.”
However, the former prime minister added that he doesn’t think now is the right time to hold elections.
Instead, he said the best course of action was for Netanyahu’s Likud party to oust the veteran leader and replace him with a party colleague.
Netanyahu formed a unity government with National Unity party leader Benny Gantz after Hamas’ 7 October attack. He sits on the war cabinet with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Gantz and National Unity member Gadi Eisenkot.
Lapid refused to join the government at the time, stressing it would only provide cover for Netanyahu’s failed governance.
