Prime Minister, Yair Lapidstated this morning (Tuesday) in an interview with Channel 2 that “Hadash-Ta’al will not sit in the government, they will not be part of the coalition. I have said this a thousand times already, by the way they are also saying this. I want to mobilize the Arab society for the war on violence. There isn’t a day that people don’t protest against me, I accept that – it’s part of democracy.”
Election week Prime Minister Lapid to@golan_aryeh Ahead of his visit to Nazareth: Hadash-Ta’al will not sit in the government, they will not be part of the coalition. I’ve said it a thousand times already, by the way they say it too. I want to mobilize the Arab society to fight violence. There isn’t a day that people don’t protest against me, I accept that – it’s part of democracy#this morning pic.twitter.com/8LLtsSMrRT
— here | ReshetBet (@ReshetBet) October 25, 2022
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In another interview conducted on IDF radio, the Prime Minister addressed the situation of the bloc he heads and said: “We will do what we are best at – work hard. You have to choose between the past and the future, that’s how you win elections. I don’t engage in speculation, I want the voters to believe me that we will avoid great darkness with Ben Gabir and Smotrich. As long as there are no real results – I don’t enter into speculation. There are critical choices between the past and the future, there will be a government that will fight against the cost of living and bring agreements.”
He also said that he did not sit with Netanyahu. “He has three indictments, his trial is ongoing. You can’t believe him,” he said, clarifying that he does not want sixth elections, but “all these calculations are a game of commentators. I was also told last time that I would not be able to form a government. We formed a government, it held less from time to time”.
He also said that his party is undergoing a process of democratization. “This year was our first conference, no one wanted to run against me. Next time it will happen, it’s a process of democratization, less time than Likud and Labor. I don’t think primaries are good, there will be elections for the head of the party. I believe that in two more, since I believe in limiting terms, two people will run, neither of whom is Yair Lapid,” he claimed.
Regarding the cost of living, the Prime Minister claimed that “it is too expensive here. There is a combination of getting out of the corona and the war in Ukraine, Israel entered it in a bad state. There is no miracle solution, we are going one thing at a time. The government has a limited influence on the cost of living, we are working as hard as possible It’s hard to do. The reforms will lower prices here, it’s Sisyphean. It’s a process that will take time.”
“We will not allow Syria to become a place through which arms can pass to Hezbollah”
Later in the conversation, Lapid also referred to the agreement with Lebanon and said that it was a “tremendous agreement” and that “I don’t remember a consensus of the entire security establishment saying that it is a good agreement. The opposition has its complaints and that’s fine. Of course, if Hezbollah were to attack it would be dealt a heavy blow, no organization Terrorism will not threaten us. The role of a government is to prevent war, this agreement is a blow to Hezbollah. We put the agreement before the Knesset, the authority is the government’s. The High Court ruled that the government acted correctly. We are about to sign this agreement.”
At the same time, he referred to reports of a double Israeli attack in Syria: “None of our considerations related to security is in the headlines in the newspaper. We will not allow Syria to become a place through which weapons can pass to Hezbollah or an Iranian establishment. We will do what needs to be done.”
Regarding the escalation in Judea and Samaria, the Prime Minister said that they have been working with high intensity since March. “The Shin Bet prevented over 300 terrorist attacks, terrorism has been attacking since the establishment of the state. We will act according to security needs, this is a very broad operation. There is a breakwater, which is adapted to the needs of the terrain and the enemy. We are still trying to have a dialogue with the Palestinian Authority. The PA’s interest is to maintain order and they are trying, they know that Israel does not trust anyone but itself. If you want to do something – do it.”
At the end, he expressed support for moving away from a nuclear agreement between Iran and the powers. “I think the agreement is not close. We have done a lot with the Americans, the Iranian involvement in Ukraine makes it easier for us to explain to the world what a dangerous regime this is. We have left the danger zone of a bad nuclear agreement, it is time to talk about a real agreement that will prevent Iran from going nuclear. There will be voices in the US and Europe who want resume the talks and we will continue to work with them,” he concluded.