Netanyahu deliberately trying to sabotage captive deal, Lapid says

from al Mayadeen English

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Sunday went after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his performance regarding the Gaza ceasefire talks. 

A former prime minister himself, Lapid said a premier in pursuit of a ceasefire agreement and the return of captives "does not issue a statement to the media every three hours that makes it difficult for the negotiating  team."

"What Netanyahu has been doing this past day is a deliberate and dangerous act of sabotage of the possibility of reaching a hostage deal. He needs to stop with these unnecessary messages," Lapid added on social media platform X.

According to a statement made by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas Sunday evening, the movement has "acted with full responsibility" towards mediators in Qatar and Egypt and considered the proposals aimed at reaching an agreement to stop the aggression in Gaza and to conclude a captive agreement...

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Israel’s government, not war cabinet, should be dissolved: Lapid

from al Jazeera

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has reacted to Netanyahu’s move to disband the war cabinet, stating that it should be his government that loses power instead.

Lapid, who heads Israel’s centrist Yesh Atid party, has been a prominent figure in antigovernment protests sweeping Israel.

He has called on the government to strike a deal with Hamas to bring home the captives and repeatedly urged Netanyahu to resign.

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Israeli opposition calls on Netanyahu to recognize Palestine

from Daily Sabah

The leader of Israel's opposition party, Yair Lapid, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Palestinian sovereignty under certain conditions, as three more European countries announced their recognition on Wednesday.

Lapid, a centrist Yesh Atid party leader, made his comments after Norway, Ireland, and Spain announced early Wednesday that they would recognize Palestine as a state effective on May 28.

Lapid, however, blamed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for preventing Netanyahu from adopting such a position, the local Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.

"Netanyahu should declare that under certain conditions and specific guarantees, he is willing to accept a future Palestinian state that joins in fighting terrorism,” he said. However, he did not go into detail during a press conference about these conditions and guarantees, or the nature of the cooperation from the proposed Palestinian state.

Criticizing extremist Ben-Gvir, the opposition leader said he "does not allow” Netanyahu to announce his readiness to recognize Palestine as a state, describing the current situation as "the madness we are living in.”

"This will not happen with this government. We need to send (Netanyahu government) it home and form an effective one,” Lapid asserted...

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