Israel is now reaping the fruits of the IranDeal signed with Tehran by the United States and five other world powers, Yesh Atid party chairman Yair Lapid told a gathering of foreign journalists Monday at the Jerusalem Press Club.
Lapid clearly backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his stance on the Iranian threat to Israel – and U.S. culpability in strengthening that threat.
The former finance minister told reporters that the new flow of funds released in the relief of sanctions against Iran is already threatening Israel. “Secretary of State [John] Kerry said himself last week that some of the sanctions relief will go to funding terrorism. For us this is not theoretical. This money translates itself into rockets aimed at our children,” Lapid said.
“The next conflict in the north or south of Israel is just a matter of time,” he warned. “The provocations, the breaches of international law, the preparations… are already happening every day by Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north. Both with [and result from] Iranian backing.
“When the fighting breaks out, the analysis and reporting shouldn’t start with the first Israeli strike, but with what’s happening on the ground right now,” he told reporters.
He added that although he agrees with his former coalition partner on these points, Lapid said he still intends to run against Netanyahu in the next election – as the alternative candidate for prime minister.