Israel’s opposition leader blasts Netanyahu, Gaza occupation plan
Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid has released a video message to say PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s press conference with foreign journalists was a “horror show” that “replaced reality with a presentation”.
“The implication of what Netanyahu proposed today is that the hostages will die, soldiers will die, the economy will collapse and our international standing will crash,” he said.
Lapid also reacted to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 that said the plan will cost billions of dollars within several months, increase the country’s deficit by 2 percent, and lead to widespread budget cuts in areas such as healthcare, education, and welfare, as well as an increased likelihood of an additional credit rating downgrade.
He said the plan means that Israel will also have to pay “from our children’s education and from our tax money” to compensate for the “mistake” of Netanyahu.
Ultra-Orthodox Israelis protest Haredi draft dodgers’ arrest
Israeli media have released footage showing hundreds of Haredi Jews gathering during a demonstration in front of a prison where several students from ultra-Orthodox institutes who received draft orders and refused to report to the recruitment office were detained last weekend.
The demonstration reportedly took place in front of Prison 10, located in the Palestinian town of Beit Lid in the Tulkarem governorate of the northeastern occupied West Bank.
A quarrel broke out between the demonstrators and residents who complained about the noise.
עשרות חרדים בהפגנה מול כלא 10 על מעצרם של שלושת המשתמשטים בשבוע שעבר. (גל"צ) pic.twitter.com/8w6oNdjgiP
— זירת החדשות (@ZiratNews) August 10, 2025
