Portrait of Yair Lapid
Politician · policy
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Yair Lapid on Two-State Solution

Conditional two-state support (strong)

TL;DR

Yair Lapid strongly supports a negotiated two-state solution, provided the future Palestinian state is entirely demilitarized and poses no security threat.

Key Points

  • He stated in September 2022 that a two-State solution is the right thing for Israel's security, economy, and the future of its children.

  • His political framework for Gaza, revealed in February 2025, prioritizes a long-term separation from the territory, with temporary Egyptian guardianship.

  • His support for a Palestinian state is contingent on its demilitarization to ensure it does not become another terror base threatening Israel.

Summary

Yair Lapid, as Israeli opposition leader and former Prime Minister, has voiced strong and consistent support for a negotiated two-State solution based on two states for two peoples. He stated in September 2022 that such an agreement is the right thing for Israel's security and economy, noting that a large majority of Israelis support this vision. However, his support is heavily conditioned; he emphatically states that a future Palestinian state must be peaceful and explicitly not function as another terror base threatening Israel's existence.

His proposal for Gaza, titled “The Egyptian Solution,” outlines a long-term disengagement framework that paves the way for eventual separation, emphasizing that Israel must ultimately “divorce” itself from the territory for security. While he previously indicated a preference for Israel to be as large as possible based on biblical foundations, he notes that Israeli security and policy considerations would impede such maximalist efforts. His endorsement of the two-state vision is often linked to the necessity of direct bilateral negotiations between the parties, with external actors playing a helpful role in persuading Palestinian leaders to negotiate earnestly.

Key Quotes

“I support anything that will allow the Jews a large, broad, strong land and a safe haven for us – our children and our children's children. I support that,”

Frequently Asked Questions

Yair Lapid currently voices strong support for achieving a negotiated two-State solution between Israelis and Palestinians. This stance is a cornerstone of his platform as a leading opposition figure. However, his support is explicitly conditional on guaranteeing Israel's security needs are met.

The primary condition is that a future Palestinian state must be entirely peaceful and demilitarized, ensuring it cannot be used as a base for launching attacks against Israel. He emphasizes that this security guarantee is non-negotiable for any agreement to proceed.

While he has long supported the concept, his framing and emphasis appear to shift based on the political context. As Prime Minister, he publicly backed the vision, and later, as opposition leader, he proposed detailed separation plans while asserting maximalist territorial views rooted in biblical concepts could be impeded by security concerns.