Lapid accuses Netanyahu government of driving Israel into unprecedented international isolation

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Thursday that Israel was facing unprecedented international isolation, blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for the deterioration of the country’s diplomatic standing.

Speaking at a conference hosted by Reichman University, Lapid said Hamas, Iran and Qatar had sought for years to isolate Israel internationally. He argued that what had previously been a goal of Israel’s adversaries had become a reality under the current government’s policies.

Lapid cited several developments as evidence of Israel’s growing isolation, including arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli officials, restrictions affecting Israelis in some European countries, and expanding boycott campaigns and protests against Israel in international forums.

He argued that previous Israeli governments had managed to limit the impact of such challenges, while the Netanyahu government had failed to address them effectively, further damaging Israel’s international standing.

Lapid also criticized the government’s approach since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, arguing that its treatment of the conflict as a continuing policy had caused significant harm to Israel’s political, economic and diplomatic interests.

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