Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid
Photo: Yoav Dudkevich
Lapid confident Netanyahu will be questioned in submarine affair
Yesh Atid leader asserts that if Netanyahu knew Israeli officials received bribes for the submarine deal and still gave Germany the okay to sell advanced submarines to Egypt, 'he needs to go to prison for a long time. And if he didn't know, he needs to resign.'
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said Monday he was confident Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be questioned in connection with the police investigation into suspected corruption surrounding the purchase of submarines and patrol boats
for Israel's Navy from Germany.
"Netanyahu keeps saying he won't be questioned in the submarine affair, but I'm saying he will be. There's no world in which he is not questioned in the submarine affair. I testified in this investigation, and I probably know what I'm talking about," Lapid told reporters.
Netanyahu, Lapid said, "has a problem. If he knew people were receiving money, and because of that gave the okay to sell advanced submarines to Egypt, then he needs to go to prison for a long time. And if he didn't know, he needs to resign."
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
He also insisted that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit "is not tainted by foreign interests in the submarine investigation."
The Yesh Atid leader also rejected Netanyahu's claims Israel was experiencing a "diplomatic Renaissance."
"I'm happy about Guatemala's decision and want was as many countries as possible to move their embassies to Jerusalem, but there is no diplomatic Renaissance. There's diplomatic neglect. There can be no diplomatic Renaissance when there is no foreign minister, when the Foreign Ministry has been split into six parts—and all because of petty Israeli politics," Lapid asserted.
He allowed that "President Trump is definitely a miracle that happened to the people of Israel and to Netanyahu. His support to Israel is unconditional, and I welcome his decision on Jerusalem," but added that "in all other areas, our situation is bad: There's a rift the likes of which we've not seen before with the Democratic Party, there's a crisis with US Jewry, and there is also a problem with young Evangelicals. We're in a crisis and deciding to ignore it and say everything is fantastic is problematic."
Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: Yoav Dudkevich)
Lapid also stressed he "will not negotiate over Jerusalem. It's better to have no deal than a deal that includes dividing Jerusalem."
He said while diplomatic agreements require concessions, these concessions will be the evacuation of isolated settlements rather than dividing Jerusalem.
'Recommendations bill is an abomination'
Later, during a Yesh Atid faction meeting in the Knesset, Lapid slammed the so-called recommendations bill, which seeks to bar police from publicly releasing recommendations on indictments.The legislation is set to go up to a vote in its second and third reading in the Knesset on Monday, but after over 1,000 reservations were submitted, the discussion is expected to draw out and the vote itself is expected only on Wednesday night.
"The recommendations bill is an abomination. It is offensive to any Israeli citizen who went to the polls and thought he was voting for how he wants his and his children's lives to be," Lapid said.
The Yesh Atid leader charged that the coalition "is living in its own country, a corrupt country in which everything has one goal: Serving the ruler."
Cynically, he added that "the most noticeable thing about the recommendations bill is the efficiency. All of a sudden, they're efficient. When it comes to them, to their own personal problems, to their attempt to save their jobs—they're a well-oiled machine. This is corrupt behavior, but let's give them credit—at least they're good at being corrupted."
Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay echoed Lapid's sentiments, saying Monday during a party meeting that "This is a bill that is entirely against the public and for crime organizations and corrupted public officials."
"The coalition broke the rules, and we'll surprise them at any opportunity," Gabbay added, praising his faction members, led by MK Yoel Hasson, who are fighting against the legislation.
