Ever since helping to form a new government last June, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid made a point of distancing himself from Palestinian issues. As he explained at the time, the government was built around consensus and included rightwing elements.
Still, it was only at a briefing for political correspondents early this month [Jan. 2] that Lapid admitted that the current government is not expected to move the diplomatic process with the Palestinians forward, even after he replaces Naftali Bennett as prime minister in August 2023. He attributed this immobility to coalition agreements. At the same time, however, he also said that he will still try to convince his coalition partners to return to the negotiating table with the Palestinians.
