Netanyahu lost confidence of Israeli public: Opposition leader Lapid

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost the confidence of the Israel public.

"We are two months into the war and the State of Israel still has no plans for the day after the war," Lapid said during a meeting of his Yesh Atid Party cited by The Times of Israel newspaper.

"There is no organized diplomatic effort during the war, there is no united public diplomacy system, there is no organized economic plan to cope with the damage to the economy. There is no one who is dealing with reservist soldiers. In short: there is no government," Lapid said.

"We have a prime minister who has lost the trust of the security establishment, the economic system and the majority of the people, and the world," he added.

The opposition leader had earlier called for choosing a new prime minister to lead the government instead of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu is facing growing criticism over his failure to acknowledge responsibility for a Hamas cross-border attack on Oct. 7.

A recent opinion poll by the Lazar Research Institute for Israeli daily Maariv found that only 27% of Israelis believe that Netanyahu is the right person to run the government.

The survey found that 49% of Israelis, or about half, believe that Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party, is the best figure to lead the country's government.