Lapid Hails 'New Era' for Israel if 'Dangerous' Netanyahu Is Replaced.
Yesh Atid chairman describes Netanyahu's speech condemning Bennett as 'reckless' proof that he must be ousted.
Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid told reporters on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's weakness makes Israel weaker, as efforts to build a coalition neared the moment of truth.
"In one week, Israel may enter a new era," Lapid said at a party meeting in the Knesset. He stressed the importance of unity and partnership in forging the new government, and that despite the obstacles the coalition may face, they will try to work together to overcome them.
Lapid described Netanyahu's speech on Sunday as "reckless and dangerous" and said the prime minister's behavior and rhetoric were precisely the reason a new government was required.
Lapid said that "a fractured and violent government will not fare well, not with the Iranians and not with the economy. I want to remind you of what you've forgotten. Just because you disagree with someone does not mean that you hate them."
With the new government in power, Lapid added, "It will suddenly be quiet, ministers will be able to work without incitement, without trying to scare us all the time. With the establishment of this government, the key word will be responsibility, not to say that everyone who thinks differently from us is a traitor who must be killed."
Two days remain until Lapid's mandate to form a government expires. Yamina Chairman Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday that he would do his best to form a coalition with Lapid despite their ideological differences, saying that the country was losing its ability to function amid repeated election cycles and ensuing political paralysis.
Netanyahu swiftly responded by accusing Bennett of deserting the right-wing camp to become part of a left-wing government, thereby perpetrating "the fraud of the century" (Haaretz)
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