Netanyahu wishes new Israeli premier 'security quiet' before elections
Newly seated Prime Minister Yair Lapid has only four months to make a name for himself before the Nov. 1 elections in Israel, and opposition head is sure to make it as difficult as possible.
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu called incoming Prime Minister Yair Lapid today, wishing him “four months of security quiet,” ahead of elections scheduled for Nov. 1. Israeli analysts opined that Netanyahu might have been hinting he would not offer him political peace in that period.
Lapid reportedly offered to resume the security briefings the head of the opposition traditionally receives from the premier, a tradition suspended during the last government. Even though Israeli law requires the opposition leader to engage in this exchange, Netanyahu refused, as he regularly argued against Naftali Bennett’s legitimacy as premier.
Netanyahu apparently declined Lapid’s offer, preferring to be briefed as he has been in recent months by the government’s military secretary. Netanyahu claimed that resuming the personal briefings by the prime minister could become a political exercise ahead of the elections.
Lapid started his first day as prime minister with a meeting in Tel Aviv with Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. Next he convened a meeting regarding Israeli civilians and the bodies of two IDF soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza. Hamas has recently signaled it is interested in a quick prisoner-swap deal, returning one of the Israeli nationals, who is apparently in poor health, in exchange for sick Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
