Opposition leader Yair Lapid told the Israeli prime minister he was ready to serve as a “safety net” to secure approval of a deal with Hamas to release hostages.
Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was willing to serve as a “safety net” for the coalition government to allow the administration to fulfill a deal to free the remaining hostages found in Gaza.
“I told the Prime Minister: I am not interested in portfolios, I was the Foreign Minister, I was the Finance Minister, I was the Prime Minister. I am interested in one thing: the return of the hostages”, said Lapid, quoted by the country's press, after a meeting with Netanyahu.
“If the government needs any kind of safety net and I can help – coming to the government, being outside, in any way – you have to tell me. Because the return of the hostages is important,” he said. He reiterated the previous opportunity to enter the government – which continues to embarrass the government and the country abroad, as proven again by the interview. The Minister of National Defense, Itamar Ben-Gvir, decided to give the North American newspaper “New York Times”.
Lapid considers that the presence of those parties in the crisis management created after October 7 – which does not support the continuation of negotiations with Hamas, even with a view to releasing hostages – may be an insurmountable obstacle for the parties involved. Find a process to solve the hostage problem.
Lapid's comments came shortly after Netanyahu hinted that the possibility of reaching an agreement in the short term was remote. Speaking at a weekly meeting with his Likud party, Netanyahu was quoted by the press as saying that Israel had already freed 110 hostages, adding: “We will continue to work on this issue, but Hamas has demanded that we not do that. Agree”. “The key to freedom should be the same as the previous agreement,” the prime minister said, arguing that the return of the remaining hostages “will not be undertaken at any cost”.
At issue is the issue of ceasefire. Hamas agrees to release the hostages only if Israel ends the war and pulls out of the Gaza Strip, and Israel will do so only when it deems the militant group's issue resolved. Even at that time, the prime minister had already said that it had to be maintained under Israeli administration so that Hamas could not invade again before October 7.
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