Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anticipated go to right here is getting entangled in Israel’s home politics, with Opposition chief Yair Lapid threatening to boycott his parliamentary tackle except the Supreme Courtroom chief is invited for it, as per conference.
Mr. Modi is predicted to reach in Israel on February 25, 2026, for a two-day go to, throughout which he’s prone to tackle the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.
Chief of Opposition Lapid has insisted that Supreme Courtroom President Yitzhak Amit be invited to the Knesset when Mr. Modi addresses the Home. Sources within the Opposition keep that it isn’t a name for a boycott; as an alternative, the federal government is “deliberately attempting to power us into a foul state of affairs.” “We spoke to the Indian embassy … They’re in panic from this. Prime Minister of India, Modi, is invited to the Knesset subsequent Wednesday [February 25, 2026], one thing that may be a matter of honour for all of us,” Mr. Lapid informed the Knesset just lately.
“If the coalition boycotts the President of the Excessive Courtroom in the course of the particular session with the Prime Minister of India, we won’t be able to attend the controversy,” Mr. Lapid informed the lawmakers, stressing that one other public boycott of Mr. Amit by the coalition would trigger “huge embarrassment” to the legislature.
“We don’t want India to be embarrassed by us, with the Prime Minister of a nation of a billion folks standing right here in entrance of a half-empty Knesset,” Mr. Lapid emphasised.
Israel’s home politics is embroiled in a heated debate over judicial overhaul, a divisive situation that has additionally sharply cut up the inhabitants for over two years. The nation confronted giant protests on the problem earlier than the October 7 assault by Hamas two years in the past, drawing a whole lot of hundreds of individuals to the streets each weekend for nearly 10 months.
Following Mr. Amit’s election as courtroom President in January 2025, Justice Minister Yariv Levin has refused to recognise his authority because the Chief Justice and has refused to fulfill him or tackle him as head of the courtroom.
The State Gazette has additionally not printed his title because the Chief Justice, as required by legislation.
This has led to Mr. Amit’s exclusion from a number of Knesset occasions — together with addresses by U.S. President Donald Trump and different world leaders — to which he would have historically been invited.
Two weeks in the past, the Opposition boycotted a Knesset session to have a good time its 77th anniversary because of Mr. Amit’s exclusion.
Mr. Lapid was the one member of the Opposition to handle the plenum, utilizing his speech to assault Netanyahu over his remedy of the courtroom President.
The Chief of Opposition’s (LOP) menace has led to heated exchanges within the political circles with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana accusing Lapid of harming the Indo-Israel relations to be able to rating home political factors.
“If the Chief of the Opposition, M.Okay. Yair Lapid, needs to hurt the international relations of the State of Israel with an vital good friend of ours, who can be one of the crucial vital powers on the earth, that’s his alternative. An unlucky, flawed alternative, and I hope he’ll reverse it,” Knesset Speaker Ohana posted on X, calling such threats “illegitimate weapons in an inner political wrestle.”
The Knesset Speaker additionally referred to as upon the Opposition chief to elucidate to the Indian authorities why he didn’t select to boycott appearances by Argentinian President Javier Milei and U.S. President Trump, “although Justice Amit was not invited” to their speeches.
Mr. Lapid responded by issuing a public attraction to Netanyahu, agreeing that boycotting a international chief was certainly “an illegitimate weapon in an inner political wrestle” however arguing that the fault lay with the Knesset speaker.
To forestall hurt to ties between Jerusalem and New Delhi, Mr. Netanyahu “should instantly instruct Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to additionally invite Supreme Courtroom President Yitzhak Amit to the ceremonial assembly with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Mr. Lapid asserted.
“Ohana’s boycott of Justice Amit can be a boycott of the Opposition, and won’t enable us to attend the assembly,” he stated, insisting that he had “no need” to hurt the standing of the nation, Knesset and Prime Minister however he was being “push[ed] right into a nook”.
Senior sources within the Opposition informed PTI that “they [the government] are deliberately attempting to power us into a foul state of affairs.”
“We’re not calling for a boycott. We’re calling on the PM and speaker to ask the President of the Supreme Courtroom in accordance with the protocol,” a supply stated.
“We hope that the Prime Minister resolves this and avoids embarrassment throughout such an vital go to by an amazing good friend and strategic ally. Everybody in Israel tremendously values the connection and friendship with India,” the supply stated.
Printed – February 22, 2026 06:15 pm IST
