Lapid: If they annex settlements we'll topple government

Finance Minister Yair Lapid attacks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Naftali Bennett because of the international situation and threatens: If they annex we will quit and topple the government. "

In a speech at the Herzliya Conference he presented his political philosophy based on a building freeze in settlements outside the blocs, separation from the Palestinians and reaching an agreement with the moderate Arab states.

"We need to stop discussing the question of what the Palestinians want and focus on another more important question: what do we want, what does the State of Israel want?" He said, "The answer to me is that we want two things: security and separation."

He said that "we can not and should not control four million Palestinians, who within a generation will double their number. Israel is a strong country with a strong economy, but if we do not separate from the Palestinians, we will lose the Jewish identity of Israel and our relative advantage over countries in the region.

"We should draw a map that will define for us just what the settlement blocs are, where we have to freeze construction and where it is possible to reinforce it," he said.

"Extreme right groups are pushing us toward delusional ideas of annexation that will lead us to a disaster called a bi-national state," he said, "I do not know if this is a PR stunt or a genuine intention, but we will not let that happen. If there will be an attempt to annex even one settlement unilaterally, Yesh Atid will not just withdraw from the government - it will also overthrow it."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!