Israel political unity on Iran war fractures as opposition leader warns of looming disaster

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - TEL AVIV — Israel’s main opposition leader has signaled an end to the political consensus over the war against Iran as he accused the government of steering the country toward a “security disaster”.

“I want to warn the citizens of Israel. We are facing another security disaster,” the head of the center-right Yesh Atid party, Yair Lapid, said in a televised statement on the 27th day of the war.

“The IDF is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield,” Lapid said.

“The government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers,” said Lapid.

Lapid has frequently criticised the government’s handling of war while still supporting Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and elsewhere.

His dramatic comments on Thursday were a response to a leaked remarks reportedly made the previous day by the military chief, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

Media reports quoted Zamir as telling the security cabinet that “the IDF is on the verge of collapse.”

“I am raising 10 red flags,” he reportedly said.

“The reservists will not hold” and the army “now needs a conscription law,” Zamir said, referring to legislation that would allow the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are largely exempted from military service.

The law aligns with the demands of a broad majority of Israelis, who are increasingly opposed to the ultra-Orthodox exemptions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who depends on his ultra-Orthodox party allies to maintain power, has used a range of tactics to delay the legislation’s adoption.

According to public broadcaster KAN, he promised the security cabinet on Wednesday that the army would receive support.

Netanyahu reportedly pledged the conscription legislation would be passed after the Passover holidays, which this year fall from April 1 to 9.

But, under a ruling established at the country’s creation in 1948 — when the ultra-Orthodox community was small — men who devote themselves full-time to the study of sacred Jewish texts get a de facto pass.

“Our pilots, our fighters, are writing extraordinary chapters in the history of the state of Israel,” Lapid said.

But “the government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers,” he added.

“These reservists are worn out and exhausted and can no longer meet our security challenges,” Lapid said.

“The army does not have enough soldiers for its missions.”

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, a right-wing Netanyahu opponent, echoed similar views.

“The government is not winning anywhere — not in Lebanon, not in Gaza... In Iran we will see,” Bennett said in a television interview on Thursday.

“Our main goal in Iran was to dismantle the nuclear program — there are still 460 kg of enriched uranium in Iran,” he said, also criticizing the exemption given to the ultra-Orthodox community.

“We have established an ultra-Orthodox state inside Israel,” he added.

A similar warning came from the leader of the left-wing “Democrats” alliance, Yair Golan, a former deputy chief of staff, who accused Netanyahu’s coalition of “abandoning (Israel’s) security.”

Leader of a center-right party and former chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, said on X: “Implementing the mandatory service law for all is the order of the hour, it is the command of conscience, only it will return Israel to the straight path.”

Lapid called for drafting ultra-Orthodox men.

“The government must stop being cowardly, immediately halt all funding for Haredi draft dodgers, send the military police after deserters, and draft the Haredim without hesitation,” Lapid said.

The military, meanwhile, said it was facing a shortage of troops as it fights a multi-front war.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin confirmed in a press briefing that the IDF required “more combat troops,” especially in southern Lebanon where it is creating a “forward defensive zone” against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.