Yair Lapid
Yair LapidYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Finance Minister Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party on Tuesday night responded sharply to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to fire Lapid, along with Justice Minister and Hatnua chairperson Tzipi Livni, in a move disbanding the coalition government.

Along with strong statements against Netanyahu, all Yesh Atid ministers quit their posts in protest of the dismissal of Lapid.

"The prime minister failed in managing the state of Israel and handling the needs of the Israeli public," charged Yesh Atid. "The hurried act of dismissing the ministers is an act of fear and confusion."

The party's accusations echo those made by Netanyahu's Likud, which criticized Lapid for having "failed miserably in managing the economy." 

"It saddens us that the prime minister decided to act with a lack of national responsibility and to drag the state of Israel into unnecessary election campaigns that will cause damage to the economy and the Israeli society, and all of it from small political considerations, weakness and submission to the hareidim, members of the (Likud) Central (Committee), and interest groups," continued Yesh Atid.

Lapid's party noted that in the failed talks between Lapid and Netanyahu Monday night, the finance minister said "I expect from you to act responsibly and to stop dragging the IDF and its fighters into election campaigns and your political needs," in a reference to Netanyahu's five demands to continue the coalition which included transfers to the IDF's budget.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Netanyahu is scheduled to address the nation and explain his decision; at roughly the same time Lapid is reportedly set to be discussing the party's next steps with senior members of Yesh Atid in his Tel Aviv home.

In announcing the dismissal, Netanyahu said "in recent weeks, including the last day, the ministers Lapid and Livni have sharply attacked the government I lead. I will not tolerate any more opposition from within the government, I will not tolerate ministers attacking the policy of the government and its leader from within the government."