Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called out his fellow opposition heads Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, and Yair Golan, accusing them of fleeing the Knesset and leaving his party alone in the fight against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, the Kan public broadcaster reported Monday.

The report broadcast recordings from a Zoom call between Lapid and leaders of his Yesh Atid party on Sunday, in which Lapid responded to internal criticism that the opposition he leads has been weak.

“Today we are saying what we haven’t said all along out of solidarity with the camp, because we are tired of the fact that in return the camp has gone after us. Our answer is: where is the opposition really? Why are we the only ones who didn’t flee?” Lapid said.

Naming them one by one, he said that Bennett, his former partner and prime minister, left before the previous elections and isn’t currently a member of the Knesset; Eisenkot joined Netanyahu’s emergency wartime coalition during the war in Gaza and then resigned from the Knesset over the Haredi draft evasion law “because he didn’t get along with Benny Gantz”; and Yair Golan, the head of the left-wing Democrats party, is not a member of the Knesset.

“They are actually angry at those who stayed and fought instead of being angry at those who fled and disappeared,” he said

“So with all due respect, we were in all the struggles, including the regime coup, including finances, including the evasion law, including in the committees, including in the Knesset, and if anyone has any complaints, they should direct them to those who abandoned the campaign,” Lapid added.

After the publication of his remarks, Lapid posted on X on Monday calling Bennett and Eisenkot friends and partners, but reiterated his claim that Yesh Atid has been the only one “fighting against the worst government in the state’s history.”

“And why are you angry specifically at Yesh Atid, which stayed and fought, and not at all those who disappeared and left us to fight alone?” he added.

Polls released last week showed Netanyahu’s Likud party losing votes on the heels of an unpopular temporary ceasefire with Iran that US President Donald Trump announced.

With Likud’s dip, opposition parties would close in but still narrowly fail to secure a majority of the Knesset’s 120 seats if elections were held today.

A Kan poll gave the Zionist anti-Netanyahu parties 59 seats, a Channel 12 poll gave them 60, and a Channel 13 poll gave them 55.

Parliamentary elections are set to be held in October at the latest.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 US-Iran talks in Pakistan end after 21 hours with no deal; US negotiators head home

2 After talks fail, IDF planning for return to war, Trump mulls strikes on Iran — reports

3 AnalysisPost-Orban Hungary will not expose Israel to more EU pain, though support may ebb

4 CIA reportedly used Pegasus software for deception op during rescue of airman in Iran

5 Trump declares US Navy to begin blockading Strait of Hormuz ‘effective immediately’

6 After 16 years in power, Hungary’s Orban concedes defeat to center-right opposition

7 Netanyahu effigy blown up in Spanish town festival; Israel summons envoy

8 AnalysisEaster prayer fiasco, resolved too late, shows Christians still treated as afterthought

© The Times of Israel