Netanyahu 'coward,' soldiers in Gaza 'more threatened than him': Israeli opposition leader

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Monday dismissed allegations of incitement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying every soldier fighting in Gaza is more threatened than him.

Lapid expressed his views in a post on the social media platform X, referring to a government meeting held on Sunday.

“Two hours of discussion in the government about the incitement against him. There is no two-hour discussion about the 101 victims of Kibbutz Bari. There is no two-hour discussion on the opening of the school year in the north on Sept. 1,” Lapid said with disbelief.

“Just the incitement against him is worth two hours of discussion? Is that the only thing that matters?” he questioned.

Criticizing the Israeli premier, Lapid said “Netanyahu is not a victim, he is a crybaby and a coward. Every soldier in Gaza is more threatened than he is.”

The opposition leader accused Netanyahu of setting up the “poison machine” and “incitement machine” that are slowly taking over all the media in Israel, “complaining that they are inciting against him.”

Netanyahu has been under fire over his deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 despite growing calls for a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.

Nearly 38,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 89,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio