Israel’s new foreign minister, Yair Lapid, reaffirmed Israel’s opposition to the Iran deal and its support for a series of Middle East peace agreements orchestrated by the Trump administration.
Lapid reiterated Israel’s stances, continuations of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy, after a new government was voted in by Israel’s Knesset on Sunday. Netanyahu lost his prime ministership after 12 consecutive years in the office to a left-right coalition of smaller parties primarily united by opposition to Netanyahu himself.
In some of his first remarks to international allies, Lapid reiterated the state’s opposition to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran deal and negotiated between the U.S., Iran, and a number of others under former President Barack Obama. Lapid said that the deal was weak and did not prevent Iran from eventually becoming a nuclear power.
“We have to work together as we face a new Iran deal. This is a bad deal and we are going to work with the prime minister. Israel will use every option at its disposal in order to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon,” Lapid told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, according to Israel Hayom. President Joe Biden has entered into talks with Iran of the U.S. rejoining the agreement and lifting sanctions.
Lapid also voiced his support for a package of peace treaties with other Middle Eastern countries negotiated by the Trump administration. The treaties, known as the Abraham Accords, worked toward normalizing Israeli-Arab relations throughout the Middle East and were in part spurred on by Iranian aggression in the region. As Hayom reports:
[Lapid] vowed to continue with the peace process started by Netanyahu and the previous US administration, which led to 4 peace deals with Arab countries, known collectively as the Abraham Accords. “We will sign more agreements with additional countries. The Palestinian arena will define to a large extent what the other theaters will look like, and we have a lot to do to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians and to improve the dialogue.”
Lapid, a centrist and leader of the Yair Lapid party, is on deck to be the next prime minister of Israel under a power-sharing agreement made with Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, who is a right-wing leader. Partnered with Lapid, other centrists and left-wingers are in a tenuous coalition that edged out Netanyahu’s dominant Likud Party and its allies.
While the change in government after 12 years under Netanyahu has given the White House an opportunity to reset relations with Israel, the country remains a majority conservative country. As noted by The Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro: “For those who follow Israeli politics, quick reminder: the right-wing currently holds 72 seats in the Knesset. They were just divided about Bibi personally. The center (Blue and White and Yesh Atid) holds 25 seats. The actual Left (Labor and Meretz) holds 13 total seats.”
For those who follow Israeli politics, quick reminder: the right-wing currently holds 72 seats in the Knesset. They were just divided about Bibi personally. The center (Blue and White and Yesh Atid) holds 25 seats. The actual Left (Labor and Meretz) holds 13 total seats.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 14, 2021