Israeli opposition backs government’s Jenin counter-terrorism operation
Opposition leader Lapid, vocal critic of Netanyahu, stresses operation is justified and necessary
Israeli opposition lawmakers expressed their support on Monday for the Netanyahu government’s ongoing counter-terrorism operation in Jenin in the northern West Bank. IDF forces have already killed at least four terrorists in the city, which has recently emerged as a major hub for anti-Israel terrorism.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, who is a vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that the operation was justified and necessary amid increasing terrorism in the area.
“This is a justified action against terrorist infrastructure,” stated Lapid. The opposition leader backed the Israeli military’s operation “against terrorist infrastructures and the attempts to build missile production systems in Jenin with Iranian assistance.”
“We are all behind you,” Lapid said in a show of support for the military operation.
Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity party, also expressed his support, saying, “We are all one front against terror.”
“Every determined and responsible operation by the government will receive full support,” he added.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Ze’ev Elkin, who previously served under Netanyahu, claimed the prime minister greenlighted the operation without consulting his security cabinet.
“They probably skipped holding a security cabinet meeting because of the distrust between Netanyahu and his partners,” Elkin told the National Army Radio.
“This could be why they are not calling it an ‘operation,’ because then it would require approval from the cabinet,” he added.
There are concerns that the unrest could potentially spread to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The Jewish state preemptively warned the terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad of a severe Israeli response if they were to launch rocket attacks against Israeli cities.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
