On July 13, the day that preceded the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the superpowers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t the only Israeli leader to brace himself for the blow. So did the heads of the two largest opposition factions, Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog and Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid.

Ever since the current government was formed, Herzog and Lapid have been fighting for recognition as influential players who can contend with Netanyahu in the diplomatic and security spheres. Now they have finally been given a chance to lash out at the prime minister in the area that he practically dominates. Because they are locked in an open struggle over who is the senior opposition leader — who ultimately sets the tone — they have been particularly aggressive in their campaign against Netanyahu.

It soon became clear that Herzog and Lapid adopted the same media strategy in response to the signing of the historic agreement: They both blamed Netanyahu, claiming that his terrible relationship with US President Barack Obama was the main reason that the United States had succumbed to a bad agreement, which would put Israel at risk. They both identified Netanyahu's weak spot and competed among themselves over who would attack Netanyahu more forcefully.

The opening salvo in Herzog's and Lapid’s Iranian campaign could be heard in their party meetings as early as the afternoon of July 13, a day before the agreement was actually signed. Herzog went on the attack saying, “It is inconceivable that we reach this fateful moment with zero influence on the agreement that is taking shape. This is solely the result of Netanyahu’s personal failure, having favored his own political victory over our relationship with the United States and Israel’s security interests.” He added, “Netanyahu will pay for all the mistakes he made in managing this crisis.”