Netanyahu, Lapid and Syria
The reported Israeli attack on an arms convoy in Syria plays into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hands to form a government with Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid and the ultra-Orthodox parties, writes Mazal Mualem.
The attack in Syria that, according to foreign sources, was carried out by Israel in the middle of last week [Jan. 29], is expected to fill an important role in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Sisyphean efforts to establish as broad a coalition as possible, including Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid, the ultra-Orthodox and — if possible — Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett, too.
In fact, anyone who kept track of the prime minister’s announcements last week, even before the assault in Syria, can easily identify the connection Netanyahu makes between Assad’s loss of control in Syria and a possible solution to his own personal political headache.
At the opening of the government’s first post-election meeting, three days before the attack in Syria, Netanyahu chose to issue a warning regarding the danger of losing control of the tremendous weaponry in the territory of the neighboring state.
“The Middle East does not wait for election results,” he said solemnly, facing the television cameras, and concluded his words with a vow to take action to establish a wide government to cope with these kinds of challenges.
