National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded on Tuesday evening to opposition leader Yair Lapid who accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of torpedoing efforts to form a unity government.
"Lapid is hindering the soldiers from winning, he wants to drag the country and Prime Minister Netanyahu into complete surrender in the war," said Ben Gvir, adding, "Yair Lapid in the government = raising the white flag by Israel in the war and rewarding Yahya Sinwar."
Ben Gvir’s comments came after Lapid had said earlier, "I offered Netanyahu a national unity government already on October 7 and he did not want it. Ben Gvir and Smotrich were not imposed on him, this is the government he wants, these are the partners he wants."
Lapid’s comments were in reference to President Isaac Herzog's call on Monday for the establishment of a unity government.
Herzog, who met with the family members of the IDF female lookouts who were brutally kidnapped from their base at the Nahal Oz outpost on October 7, said, “The political echelon must come together with all its strength, bear communal responsibility to ensure the release and return of the hostages back home as soon as possible. Together, we have to all take responsibility, we have to take every possible step to push the decision-makers to bring the hostages home."
He added, "It is clear to all of us that any hostage deal will have painful prices. That is clear to us. But I think that without bringing the hostages home, the prices will be much, much more painful for Israeli society. We need to do everything possible to bring them home quickly."