Opposition leader says Netanyahu is to blame for Israel's isolation

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel's growing international isolation.

"Netanyahu said yesterday that we are becoming diplomatically isolated, that we will have to be Sparta," Lapid said in a speech he shared on the social media platform X on Tuesday. The ancient Greek city-state of Sparta was known for its military-dominated society.

"Did a higher power cause this? You caused it – you are the main culprit behind [Israel's] diplomatic isolation," Lapid said, addressing Netanyahu.

Lapid accused the prime minister of remaining silent on extremist statements made by far-right ministers about the Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, he said, there was no clear political line. "No one in the world understands what Israel wants," he said, adding that it was unclear how the Gaza war was supposed to end.

"Everything is amateurish, careless and arrogant," Lapid said.

Israel's next parliamentary elections are not due to take place for more than a year.