Opposition leader Yair Lapid warned on Monday that the government’s unanimous decision to declare that it would not comply with a High Court of Justice ruling regarding the composition of the Second Authority Council was part of a broader effort by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to “steal” or “rig” the upcoming elections.
Lapid made the remarks during his faction’s press conference in the Knesset on behalf of the Together Party, led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett.
The government’s declaration on Sunday marked a first and raised the prospect of a constitutional crisis if it refuses to recognize decisions made by the Second Authority Council, which goes against the High Court ruling.
Lapid argued that the government’s real target was not the Second Authority but the elections themselves.
“The government wants to go into the elections without a court,” he said.
He added that the government has “been working toward this for a long time. They keep saying, over and over again, that the court is not the body that determines what the law is, so that we become accustomed to the idea.”
“The poison machine keeps relentlessly pushing this narrative until madness begins to sound reasonable.”
Lapid claims government is advancing deliberate strategy to 'steal election'
‘This is a deliberate strategy. Its goal is to steal the election.”
Lapid noted that without a court, the government could postpone the elections if it sees that it is about to lose.
“They will claim there is some security event, or they will create one, and delay the elections. And if there is no court, there will be no one to appeal to,” he argued.
Lapid warned that, with no High Court, “the government could also rig the elections, and there would be no one to turn to.”
“It could announce that it does not accept the election results. They could simply declare themselves the winners even if they lost, and there would be no one to challenge them.”
Other party leaders in the bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu also spoke against the government’s potential political maneuvers ahead of the elections.
The Democrats party leader, Yair Golan, warned that the government’s decision to reject the High Court’s ruling was “a dress rehearsal for something even more dangerous: a government refusing to obey the will of the people.”
Golan also warned against a new emerging right-wing party, informally referred to as “Likud B,” with reports of figures such as former Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, and Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel being part of it.
“A vote for Likud’s satellite parties will not save Israel; it will save Netanyahu,” he said.
“Let’s not deceive ourselves: these parties are Likud B, C, and D. There is a very high probability that, the day after the election, they will return the full-fledged right-wing government to power. That is why we must not be tempted, and we must not gamble,” he said.
Golan stressed that the upcoming elections were “fateful.”
“This is where our role, as the Democrats, comes in: a large and strong Democrats party will ensure that no government is formed with any of the parties belonging to what I call the October 7 coalition,” Golan said.
Liberman asserts Netanyahu 'cannot be part of any future government'
Yisrael Beytenu leader MK Avigdor Liberman told the press in his Knesset faction meeting that he would not rule out joining a coalition with Likud in a scenario where Netanyahu was no longer leading the party.
“Likud as Likud is a legitimate party and can be a partner in the next coalition. Benjamin Netanyahu, as the person primarily responsible for the October 7 massacre, will face a state commission of inquiry and will have to answer for it, period. He cannot be part of any future government,” he said.
Liberman added that “everything else is open. We must have a Zionist and state-oriented coalition.”
Liberman also slammed the legislation being rapidly advanced by the coalition ahead of the Knesset’s dissolution, stating the government was encouraging draft evasion amid the IDF’s manpower shortage.
He warned that Israel’s security situation was “currently worse than it was on the eve of the October 7 massacre.”
“Anyone who has failed to achieve victory on any front after more than 1,000 days will never achieve victory,” he added.
“That is why we will replace this government, achieve victory on all fronts, rebuild the country, and put Israel back on the right path.”
General elections are set to take place no later than October 27.