Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down “immediately”, amid Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas’s October 7 attack.”
Lapid demanded a vote of no confidence in Parliament so that a new government headed by a different prime minister could be formed.
In an interview with an Israeli news channel, Lapid stated, “Netanyahu needs to go right away. We need change, Netanyahu cannot remain Prime Minister.”
Lapid accused Netanyahu and the security apparatus under his leadership of an “unpardonable failure” for not preventing the October 7 attack.
Four days after Hamas’s surprise October 7 attack on Israel, Netanyahu and another opposition leader, Benny Gantz, announced an agreement to form an “emergency government” for the duration of the war, but Lapid refused to join.
This is the first time Lapid has called for Netanyahu to step down saying that the situation does not warrant early elections, rather the parties should opt for a national reconstruction with another Prime Minister from Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Over 11,500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began bombarding the besieged enclave on October 7 after Hamas launched a surprise attack.
The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Wednesday calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip” to allow for aid delivery and medical evacuations, “corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days” to safeguard civilians, particularly children, and asked for the unconditional release of captives held in Gaza.
