Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with opposition leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday for a security briefing amid the ongoing war with Iran, the Prime Minister’s Office announced.
Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party led the Zionist opposition factions in the Knesset on Monday in helping to defeat a no-confidence motion against the government, submitted by the Arab Hadash, Ta’al, and Ra’am parties.
Three months ago, Lapid faced significant backlash from coalition lawmakers for advocating the shutdown of the Israeli economy in protest against the government while the war with Hamas in Gaza was still ongoing.
During an anti-government rally, the opposition leader had called for a “tax revolt” if the Netanyahu coalition proceeded with its plan to dismiss Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director Ronen Bar.
Nevertheless, Israel’s Zionist opposition parties have collectively voiced their support for “Operation Rising Lion,” the IDF’s military campaign targeting the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program.
“I fully support the objectives of the operation and our security forces … When it comes to the security of Israeli citizens against our enemies, we are one people, with one goal,” Lapid said at the onset of the war last week.
The Tel Aviv home of Yair Lapid’s son sustained light damage during an overnight Iranian missile barrage on Sunday. Glass shattered and fell onto the bed of Lapid’s 13-month-old granddaughter, who was not home at the time, the opposition leader said in a statement. He urged Israeli citizens to take shelter immediately when sirens sound.
On June 13, more than 200 Israeli fighter jets launched a “preemptive, precise, combined” opening strike against Iran’s nuclear program, targeting dozens of enemy sites, including military and nuclear facilities.
Netanyahu has said the operation would “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat... to Israel’s very survival.”
Since the start of the war, Iranian attacks on Israeli civilian population centers have killed 24 people. Three were killed on Friday, 13 overnight on Saturday, and eight early Monday morning.
