War against Iran justified, necessary: Israeli leader Lapid backs rival PM Netanyahu 

Despite all sorts of political disagreement, Israel’s current Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid backed his rival PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to strike Iran. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost’s Bhagyasree Sengupta, Lapid emphasised that the strikes against Iran were “justified and necessary”.

The remarks from Lapid came a week after Israel conducted Operation Rising Lion , striking key nuclear and military infrastructure in Iran. Tel Aviv argued that Iran was just weeks away from acquiring a nuclear weapon; hence, actions against the country’s nuclear program were needed.

In an email interview with Firstpost, the former Israeli premier backed his arch-nemesis, Netanyahu’s actions against Iran, reflecting how, despite political division, Israel is united when it comes to dealing with its global adversaries.

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Lapid also gave his take on the Gaza war , empathising with the family of hostages. In the interview, he mentioned that it was time to end the war in the Gaza Strip, but also called out Hamas for being hell-bent on not releasing the hostages.

It is important to note that the interview was taken just a day before the US struck three nuclear facilities in Iran, joining hands with Israel in a bid to dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Edited excerpts:

Q1. Regional tension is not a new thing for West Asia, as is the Israel-Iran rivalry. What made Israel conduct Operation Rising Lion now?

Yair Lapid: We reached a point where the Iranian threat against Israel had become intolerable – they were advancing their nuclear program and working towards a nuclear weapon while at the same time advancing their ballistic missile program with the goal of building more ballistic missiles than Israel has interceptors. Either of those scenarios would have been an existential threat to the State of Israel.

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Q2. Critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say that he flexes Israel’s military muscle to fan nationalistic sentiments when he’s politically vulnerable. Is this why Israel’s original campaign against Hamas following the October 2023 raids has kept expanding, now as Operation Rising Lion, given that he survived a vote to dissolve parliament on June 12?

Yair Lapid: As the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the vote to dissolve parliament, I can say that Mr Netanyahu is a bitter political rival of mine, and I have expressed criticism of his handling of the war in Gaza, but the operation against Iran is justified and necessary.

Q3. What’s your take on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s reference to the cancellation of his son’s wedding due to the ongoing military conflict, soon after a missile attack on a hospital in Israel? He made those remarks against the backdrop of the damaged hospital building.

Yair Lapid: I don’t really want to get into his comments . The Israeli Home Front is paying a heavy price in this war; civilians are being murdered by a fanatical regime which is firing ballistic missiles at hospitals, mosques and residential buildings. This war with Iran didn’t start a week ago; they have been trying to find ways to kill Jews and destroy Israel for decades. Don’t forget that last October, we were the victims of the largest ballistic missile strike in history when Iran launched around 200 missiles at us.

Q4. Anat Angrest, whose son Matan has been held hostage since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, took a jibe saying that the prime minister’s personal loss “didn’t go unnoticed by my family either”. Do you think that with the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, the issue of hostages still stranded in Gaza is going unnoticed?

Yair Lapid: I understand her pain. The families have suffered terribly since October 7th, and we won’t let them be ignored. We will never forget our brothers and sisters in Gaza . There is nothing more urgent for the Israeli society than bringing our hostages home. The fact that Hamas is still holding people hostage in the terror tunnels of Gaza is cruel and inhumane.

Q5. If you were leading the country in this situation, would you have taken the same approach as PM Netanyahu? What would you have done differently?

Yair Lapid: When it comes to this operation against Iran, absolutely. If anything, I think this could have been done earlier, and I called for a harsher response after the ballistic missile strike in October. There are other areas where we differ greatly – for example, the war in Gaza, which I believe it is time to end and a series of domestic issues that need to be handled dramatically differently.

Q6. For one and a half years, Israel has been at war with Hamas and Hezbollah and faced attacks from the Houthis. Now, Israel is in a direct military confrontation with Iran. Do you fear that the Jewish nation might have war fatigue soon? How long can it continue engaging in conflict with all its adversaries?

Yair Lapid: We do not want to be a nation at war. The Israeli public wants to live in peace with our neighbours. The toll on Israeli society is real, but our strength, our social solidarity and our resilience are far greater than our enemies seem to understand. They see our democracy and internal debates as a weakness, but it is a source of great strength.

The other thing to remember is that we have no choice. We were attacked on October 7th, we didn’t seek that conflict, and it could end tomorrow if Hamas laid down their arms, released the hostages and relinquished power. We all understand that we cannot ever allow our enemies to acquire weapons which could be used to destroy us. The Israeli public understands the necessity of this war.

Q7. Last week, Trump said that if Israel attacks Iran, it will hamper nuclear talks. Israel still went ahead. What is your response to people who say that Israel’s operation has hampered the US’s prospects of getting a nuclear deal with Iran?

Yair Lapid: I can only repeat what I said earlier: This is an operation that was necessary and just. The Iranians have lied and cheated at every opportunity. I think the world understands that they cannot be trusted.

Q8. We learned that during the Iranian retaliation, a strike happened near your son’s apartment. What’s your view on the military strikes coming to civilian quarters in Israel or Iran, for that matter?

Yair Lapid: Israel is targeting nuclear and military sites; Iran is targeting civilians . That’s one of the key differences between us.

Q9. What do you think is the end goal of Israel’s operation in Iran, and what is the country expecting from the Trump administration right now?

Yair Lapid: We are confident that President Trump will make the right decision for the United States, but our perspective is that there is now an opportunity to totally destroy the Iranian nuclear program, and that won’t only make Israel safer, it will make the world safer. Our goal is clear – to ensure Iran is no longer a threat to Israel.

Q10. When Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza for the release of hostages, far-right ministers like Ben Gvir resigned from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Cabinet. As an opposition leader, do you see the Likud Party getting increasingly more dependent on far-right leaders? How much has the ruling party changed under Netanyahu’s current leadership? What’s your view as a political observer?

Yair Lapid: I am not a political observer; I am a political actor. At the moment, we are united around our shared need to defeat a fanatical enemy sworn to our destruction, but of course, I still believe that Israel needs a different government that is led by a moderate, pragmatic, patriotic centre.