Lapid Gathers Israel's Anti-Netanyahu Rivals in Herzliya to Force Him Out

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid turned up the heat Tuesday, telling reporters flatly that Benjamin Netanyahu has to go — and that the recent political maneuvering was "another reminder" of why. "We are facing a grave and dangerous attempt to undermine the election results," he said, adding that the anti-Netanyahu camp must put together a government of its own.

He wasn't talking to an empty room. Lapid huddled in the coastal city of Herzliya with Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot, Beyachad leader Naftali Bennett, Democrats chairman Yair Golan and Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman — a rare gathering of rivals with one shared target. Their goal: hammer out a coordinated strategy before consultations with President Isaac Herzog over who gets the mandate to form the next government.

Here's the headache. The bloc came out of last week's elections with 48 Knesset seats. Forming a government takes 61. That leaves 13 seats of daylight, and no obvious place to find them — which is why the Herzliya huddle matters more than the soundbites.

Netanyahu isn't waiting around. In a post on X on Monday, he said he's open to talks with any party willing to join a "broad government" — as long as it "does not support terrorism." He doubled down on refusing a coalition propped up by the Arab-led parties Ra'am and the Joint List, accusing them of backing terrorism and rejecting Israel's Jewish identity. He also argued Likud finished as the largest party, claiming a clear majority of Jewish voters picked him to lead.

Liberman has already slammed the door on his side of the equation, declaring Monday he won't sit in any government that includes Netanyahu — not even under a rotating prime minister arrangement that would put Liberman in the top job first.

The election itself, held October 27, drew scrutiny before the horse-trading began. Shin Bet Director David Zini, Central Elections Committee Chairman Noam Sohlberg and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara released a video address saying the vote ran properly with no outside interference, per the outlet. Separately, Israeli Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu urged President Donald Trump to resume strikes on Iran right after the November 3 US midterms — a claim both the White House and Netanyahu's office declined to address.