Opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke this morning (Wednesday) at the opening of a faction meeting of the Yesh Atid party held in Tel Aviv, where he criticized the government's security policy.
"We are dangerously approaching a violent confrontation, a situation of significant concern. According to security system reports, there is an unprecedented number of alerts in Judea and Samaria. The recent events near the Gaza border are exactly the kind that has led to previous rounds of conflict.
"All heads of the security establishment – the IDF, Shin Bet, and intelligence agencies – are warning the government and the cabinet against a descent into violence. However, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich repeatedly ignore the security experts' recommendations to act cautiously and responsibly. The Prime Minister has lost control of his ministers, each of whom is pursuing their own dangerous policies. Calling on Israeli citizens to bring weapons to the Knesset on Yom Kippur is not a security policy; it is dangerous populism."
"Allowing the extremist settlers to run wild without any restraint is not a security policy. Acting contrary to the positions of the Shin Bet and the Israel Prison Service regarding security prisoners is not being further to the right; it's abandoning any sense of responsibility. It's an approach that prefers more videos and studio appearances over a balanced policy that could save lives."
"The Prime Minister should knock on the table today"
Lapid warns against a security escalation that could cost lives: "Those who will pay the price are our children, who may have to enter the refugee camp in Jenin again, and Gaza again, and maybe even Lebanon again. Those who will pay the price are our parents who will sit in emergency rooms. Unlike what they did, I will not blame the Israeli government for terrorism, but security policy cannot be conducted based on political slogans and competition for headlines. If Netanyahu does not restrain Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, people's lives will be at risk."
"Instead of fleeing from trouble to California, the Prime Minister needs to immediately confront the situation, restrain his irresponsible ministers, and work together with the heads of the security establishment to calm the situation. If he acts responsibly, he will discover that, unlike members of his own government, the opposition will fully support him."
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