Netanyahu to Brief Opposition Leader Lapid on Iran After Two-Month Hiatus

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid are set to meet Wednesday afternoon at the Prime Minister's Office for a security briefing, their first sit-down in roughly two and a half months.

The session is expected to cover Iran and the situation along the northern border, according to people familiar with the plans. Tensions with Iran have stayed elevated following a series of exchanges earlier in the year, and the north has required close monitoring despite the ceasefire that took hold in late 2024.

By established Israeli practice, the prime minister is expected to keep the opposition leader in the loop on sensitive security matters, so that the head of the largest opposition faction is not shut out of classified developments that bear on national security decisions.

The gap drew criticism from Lapid's circle, which accused the Prime Minister's Office of using access to classified briefings as a political instrument. Aides to Lapid said he had sought meetings that were repeatedly delayed without explanation. People close to Netanyahu gave a different account, saying the lapse reflected scheduling and operational pressures rather than any deliberate move to exclude him.

The two men have had a strained relationship since the current government took office in late 2022. Lapid has accused Netanyahu of running the war in Gaza with political considerations driving the decisions, a claim Netanyahu's allies have rejected.

Lapid, who held the premiership in 2022, has argued that the opposition must be kept informed on existential security questions no matter the state of political relations. His party, Yesh Atid, remains the largest opposition faction in the Knesset.