Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “ignored” his torn nation in his address to the UN General Assembly, opposition leader MK Yair Lapid charged following the conclusion of the prime minister’s speech in New York.
Lapid, who offered a “summary” of Netanyahu’s address, said the prime minister “ignored Saudi intention to become a nuclear state, ignored the Palestinian agreement of an interim agreement, ignored the US demand to halt the judicial reform.
“[Netanyahu] ignored the fact that Israel is being torn apart due to his government and he is not even trying to heal the wounds and unite the nation. Sad,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
סיכום נאום נתניהו: מתעלם מהדרישה הסעודית להפוך למדינת סף גרעינית, מתעלם מההסכמה הפלשתינית ללכת להסכם ביניים, מתעלם מהדרישה האמריקאית לעצור את ההפיכה המשטרית, מתעלם מזה שמדינת ישראל קרועה בגלל הממשלה שלו, לא מנסה אפילו לאחות את השברים ולאחד את העם. עצוב.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) September 22, 2023
Netanyahu 'ignored judicial reform, peace with Palestinians'
Labor MK Gilad Kariv also attacked Netanyahu’s speech, which he claimed missed the “two most crucial aspects for the future of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state: Stopping the predatory coup d’etat and resuming negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.
“With all due respect to his visions of artificial intelligence and visual tricks, most Israeli citizens and world Jewry will now feel even more disheartened by the Torah manipulations,” said Kariv. Netanyahu’s speech began with a reference to biblical stories.
National Unity MK Gideon Sa’ar told KAN on Saturday that the opposition would support an agreement with Saudi Arabia if the deal was good, as peace and improvement in relations with the Muslim world was in Israel’s national interest. Sa’ar conditioned that support, saying that it would not come “at any cost.”
“The Saudi demand to enrich uranium on their land,” said Sa’ar, “would lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.”
President Isaac Herzog praised the “vision of peace” with Saudi Arabia and the greater Middle East.
“This is an important message conveyed in the prime minister’s speech and I welcome it,” said Herzog.