Israel’s main opposition leader says ceasefire with Iran ‘political disaster’

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel’s main opposition leader Yair Lapid sharply criticised the ceasefire with Iran on Wednesday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to achieve the war’s objectives.

“There has never been a political disaster like this in our entire history. Israel was not even close to the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security,” Lapid wrote on X.

“The army carried out everything that was asked of it, and the public showed remarkable resilience, but Netanyahu failed politically, failed strategically, and did not achieve any of the goals he himself set.”

Netanyahu had set the elimination or at least severe degradation of Iran’s nuclear programme as a central goal of the war, describing it as an “existential threat” to Israel.

He also called for neutralising Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, weakening or potentially toppling the Iranian regime, and curbing Tehran’s regional influence by targeting its network of allied groups.

“It will take us years to repair the political and strategic damage that Netanyahu caused due to arrogance, negligence, and lack of strategic planning,” Lapid said.

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in an 11th-hour bid to avert all-out destruction of Iran threatened by US President Donald Trump.

Israel said it supported Trump’s decision to suspend his bombing of Iran, but maintained the ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”.

Israel has been battling Iran-backed Hezbollah since the Lebanese armed group launched rocket fire at Israel in March.