Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar sharply attacked opposition leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday over remarks Lapid made regarding Italy's decision to suspend security cooperation with Israel.
Sa'ar called Lapid a "clown" and referred to him as "immature," claiming his statements stemmed from ignorance and a fundamental lack of understanding of the political reality.
The back-and-forth began after Lapid posted on social media that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's decision to suspend the agreement was "yet another embarrassing failure by the Prime Minister and the non-existent Foreign Minister." Lapid stressed that Meloni does not belong to the progressive left but to the conservative camp, and concluded, "We'll return to power, form a government, and Israel will once again be the country everyone wanted to love."
Sa'ar fired back with a direct counterattack, asserting that no such agreement even exists between the two countries.
"If the person who once served as 'Foreign Minister' had even minimal knowledge, he would know there is no such agreement at all," Sa'ar wrote. "There is only a memorandum of understanding that was never given any real substance. Israel's security will not be harmed."
Sa'ar added that Lapid "is quick to lecture Israel from the sidelines" and that his comments are dangerous to the country's security.
Later in his response, Sa'ar addressed Lapid's remark about "love from the world," calling it childish and baseless. "We shouldn't be seeking the world's love," the Foreign Minister clarified. "We'll settle for respect, appreciation, and protecting our vital national interests."