The Dispute Index

Yair Lapid

Portrait of Yair Lapid

Israeli opposition politician and former prime minister.

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What DI has documented

DI has documented statements by Yair Lapid on Israel, Media, and Military and Defense, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.

Topics in this coverage

Statements by Yair Lapid

Portrait of Yair Lapid

Yair Lapid

Role at the time: Israeli opposition politician and former prime minister

Condemned

Statement summary

Lapid said Netanyahu had received warnings from him, Egypt, and Israeli security leaders and argued that acting on them could have prevented the massacre.

“Three weeks before the massacre, I warned the Prime Minister at a press conference that this was what was going to happen.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)September 8, 2026 live updates: Opposition chiefs respond to alleged UAE warning3:20 pm update
Why we used this label

He directly blamed Netanyahu for failing to act on multiple warnings and tied that failure to the attack’s occurrence.

Read statementWas Netanyahu warned by the UAE about a major Hamas operation before October 7?
Portrait of Yair Lapid

Yair Lapid

Role at the time: Leader of the opposition, Knesset

Challenged the characterization

Statement summary

Opposition leader Yair Lapid joined Netanyahu in condemning a Palestinian Authority foreign ministry statement that blamed Israeli helicopters and the Hannibal Protocol for the killings at the Nova festival.

“Anyone who denies the massacre makes himself an accomplice to the most terrible crime against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Ynet News: Palestinian Foreign Ministry claims Israel killed Nova festivalgoers (November 19, 2023) · Ynet News
Why we used this label

The reference point is Israeli fire on October 7, 2023, under or in the manner of the Hannibal Directive, that put Israeli captives at risk of being killed by Israeli forces. Lapid rejects the Palestinian Authority's claim that Israel killed the festivalgoers under the Hannibal Protocol as false denial of the massacre, which disputes the characterization. The closest competing label is Defended or excused, but he denies the claim rather than justifying any fire.

Read statementDid Israeli forces kill Israelis under the Hannibal Directive on October 7?

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.