Israeli Opposition Leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid told Israel’s Channel 12 News on Tuesday that his party is prepared to join the ruling Likud-led wartime coalition government if it means securing the release of the 136 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
Lapid explained that his center-left Yesh Atid party would be willing to replace the far-right, ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties in the coalition if those factions rebelled against a possible hostage deal.
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After details of the possible agreement between Hamas and Israel became public, both National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the respective leaders of the Netanyahu government’s right flank, issued harsh condemnations of the reported deal.
In response, Lapid said that his party, the largest opposition party in Israel’s unicameral Knesset with 24 seats, could provide “a safety net for the government” to ensure a deal is reached.
According to unnamed political sources cited by Ynet, Justice Minister Yariv Levin—the architect of the controversial judicial reform legislation that sparked mass demonstrations across Israeli society for most of last year—disclosed that he would give up his ministerial position to Lapid if Yesh Atid were to join the government.
This followed Lapid’s comments regarding joining the government in an attempt to prevent Ben Gvir and Smotrich from sabotaging the deal.