'A win is a win': Israel opposition leader Lapid reacts to Netanyahu's poll setback

Israel’s outgoing opposition leader Yair Lapid, who is also the second most prominent leader in the B’Yachad alliance, has claimed that the anti-Netanyahu bloc “won” the election, even though it fell short of an outright victory. He called on the public to be patient while the bloc looks for ways to form a government. “It's not a knockout victory. It's a points victory. That counts too. A win is a win,” Lapid said. The anti-Netanyahu bloc took a combined 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset, but reaching a majority of 61 is difficult. Three of the four Jewish-led parties in the bloc (Yashar, B’Yachad and Yisrael Beytenu) have rejected the idea of sitting in a coalition with the predominantly Arab Joint List and Ra’am. The Times of Israel reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, and his Likud party became the largest single party with 27. Still, Netanyahu also lacks a clear route to the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority. In a post on X, Lapid said that Netanyahu’s opponents had hoped for “a clear, immediate victory”, but maintained that the outcome should nonetheless be seen as a win for the opposition. “Netanyahu got 53 seats. A crash. Even from that small number, 13 seats belong to parties that declare they aren't Zionist,” he wrote, referring to the ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas, which won seven and six seats, respectively. “That leaves him 40 [seats],” Lapid said, contending that Netanyahu had no path to forming a government. “So we won,” he declared, calling the result “a win on points” instead of a knockout victory. Lapid said the opposition bloc, headed by Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot, would use every means available to form a government, though he admitted the process would be hard and success was not assured. He requested “patience” from the public, explaining that forming a government is the opposite of an election campaign and happens behind closed doors, out of view of the cameras. “I know the human race hates uncertainty, but think how much you'd hate finding out in another month that for the sake of a headline or some leak, we didn't work smart, quiet, and precise,” he wrote. Lapid added that talks were taking place even though nothing had been announced publicly. “If you want to know if something's happening behind the silence you're hearing now, the answer is yes,” he said.