Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly this week, responded to a campaign video by Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu accusing him of "completely folding" in the negotiations over Israel's maritime border with Lebanon.
"I saw what Netanyahu released, it's a terrible act of national irresponsibility. The prime minister is in New York at the UN General Assembly. Complex negotiations are underway in America, he doesn't know the details because he didn't receive a security update, and this is a violation of the Israeli government's negotiations, a violation of our security, political and economic interests," Lapid told reporters in New York.
"It's not something you should expect from the opposition, to make videos like this for a campaign. I was the head of the opposition and in similar situations I behaved completely differently," Lapid claimed.
"We are in the middle of very complex and advanced negotiations. I gave our negotiation teams very clear parameters in coordination with the Minister of Defense of where our needs are from the security, political and economic sides. If we reach [a deal] while maintaining these parameters - good.. If not - the State of Israel is strong and will know how to defend itself. I continue to use the phrase 'cautious optimism,'" he said.
He added: "This morning we sat with the American teams, they went to the Lebanese, it's going the way negotiations go."
Netanyahu claimed in the Likud video: "Citizens of Israel, I have a very disturbing message for you. Lapid has completely folded. He intends to hand over to Lebanon, without any supervision or control from Israel, a gas reservoir worth billions of dollars that will be used by Hezbollah to purchase thousands of missiles and rockets that will be aimed at Israeli cities."