Israeli opposition chief backs Netanyahu authorities to safe hostage deal

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FIRST ON FOX: Two years because the horrific occasions of Oct. 7, 2023 when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel and killed 1,200 males, ladies and youngsters, earlier than they took 251 others into the Gaza Strip, there may be nonetheless no hostage deal and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorities is dealing with potential collapse.

Netanyahu has discovered an unlikely ally in former Prime Minister and chief of the opposition, Yair Lapid, who prolonged a "safety web" to the conservative chief this week in a transfer to safe the federal government as negotiations with Hamas stay ongoing.

"Nothing is extra essential than making this deal, bringing our hostages again house," Lapid mentioned in an interview with Fox Information Digital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin talks to U.S. President Donald Trump throughout a gathering within the Oval Workplace of the White Home on April 7, 2025 in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Photos)

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The necessity for Lapid’s political backing comes as right-wing leaders in Netanyahu’s coalition, Nationwide Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have repeatedly criticized Netanyahu’s acceptance of President Donald Trump’s peace plan with Hamas and threatened to depart the coalition at quite a few factors over the past yr.

Netanyahu’s coalition misplaced its majority within the Israeli parliament in July when two ultra-Orthodox parties left their ministerial posts after an exemption that granted spiritual college students a cross for army conscription expired.

The transfer left Netanyahu’s coalition answerable for simply 50 of the 120 seats within the Knesset.

"Now he is completely depending on the intense alt-right inside his authorities that claims no to any deal [with Hamas]," Lapid defined.

When requested how seemingly he thought it was that particular elections could be triggered as soon as parliament returns from its Autumn break on Oct. 19, Lapid mentioned, "very seemingly."

A particular election is unlikely to occur before February or March 2026, Lapid defined, pointing to a delegated timeframe that enables for campaigning in Israel, ought to the Knesset set off an early election cycle by November – simply seven months before the beforehand scheduled October 2026 elections.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid addresses the media exterior a polling station in Israel's coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv after casting his vote within the nation's fifth election in 4 years on Nov. 1, 2022. (Jack Guez/AFP through Getty Photos))

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Lapid believes the Israeli public will favor a extra centrist authorities that might embody each the correct and left, a transfer that might nonetheless prioritize Israeli safety, but additionally guarantee there may be an finish to the warfare in Gaza and repairs are made to Jerusalem’s international standing .

"If there's one factor I am sorry about, [it] is the truth that no one within the authorities has the political braveness to face up and say…this can be a simply warfare, we're doing what must be performed with a purpose to defend ourselves, however we're sorry for each baby that loses his life," Lapid mentioned. "Youngsters shouldn't die in grownups' wars."

"As Jews, as human beings, as individuals who imagine in Judeo-Christian traditions and morality, it is heartbreaking," he added.

Lapid mentioned this failure of the present authorities not solely led to ambiguity when it got here to Israel’s technique in countering Hamas, it fueled what he mentioned is media bias and false reporting, and it price Israel dearly when it comes to international support , even amongst "teams that historically supported Israel."

The opposition chief described a gathering he had with Netanyahu on Oct. 7, 2023 , during which he mentioned the prime minister appeared "grey and drained and previous abruptly."

Protestors maintain pictures of hostages as they march throughout a rally calling for the Israeli authorities to signal a deal to launch the hostages held within the Gaza Strip, on Aug. 26, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Amir Levy/Getty Photos)

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"I mentioned one thing at that assembly that in a while turned a cliché – I mentioned, "Prime Minister, that is the worst day for the Jewish individuals because the Holocaust.

"What we have to do, is type a unity authorities," he mentioned. "You must eliminate the extremists in your authorities, and we are able to create a unity of presidency as a result of now we have reverse us, a problem that's unparalleled to something you, or I, have ever seen."

Lapid mentioned Netanyahu was "reluctant" to pursue this route.

"Till at the present time, I am sorry about this. I believed it was the correct factor to do, and I nonetheless suppose it was the correct factor to do," he added.

Netanyahu has spent 15 years as Israel’s prime minister, first serving from March 2009 to June 2021, earlier than retaking the highest job in December 2022 .

Lapid described his prolonged tenure as "admirable" and emblematic of his "resilience."

"However in different methods, I can see now, to say politely, the advantages of the two-term limits that you've in america," he added.

Households of hostages protest, demanding the discharge from Hamas captivity within the Gaza Strip, on the plaza generally known as the hostages sq. in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (AP Photograph/Ariel Schalit)

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The opposition chief mentioned he thinks Israelis are prepared for a "unity authorities" in response to Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition, noting that he thinks the upcoming elections will probably be "attention-grabbing."

"It'll cross political traces, and it is going to be primarily based on hope," he added in reference to the bloc he's constructing. "I do know it appears like huge phrases, however I am telling you, it's what we want proper now.

"It has been the toughest two years of everyone's lifetime. And the primary time in an extended, very long time, the fragility of the Israeli society was tangible to us. And we have to rebuild," Lapid added.