Why did Israeli opposition walk out during PM Modi's Knesset visit?

Israeli opposition leaders were seen walking out during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Knesset.

In a stand-off over the Knesset speaker's decision not to invite Israel's Supreme Court President, Isaac Amit, to the evening speech by PM Modi at the Knesset, the opposition staged a walkout during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address.

However, shortly after members of the Knesset left the plenum, former coalition lawmakers took their seats to fill the vacant spots. The Knesset speaker had earlier assured that PM Modi would not be addressing an empty chamber after the opposition announced its boycott, according to Israel's public broadcaster Kan.




Several opposition parties issued statements saying they would not attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address and would reenter the plenum only when PM Modi began speaking, in order to respect the alliance between the two nations.

“We will only return for the Indian prime minister’s speech to respect the alliance between the countries and express our appreciation for Prime Minister Modi’s standing by Israel," opposition leaders Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beytenu parties say in identical statements, local media reported.

Reentering the Knesset after boycotting Netanyahu’s speech, opposition leader Yair Lapid shook hands with PM Modi and welcomed him to the Knesset.

Lapid told PM Modi that the opposition walkout during this evening’s special session had “nothing to do with him,” which then drew boos from coalition lawmakers, to which he replied, “Let’s try not make things worse.”

During his address to the Knesset, Lapid thanked Prime Minister Modi for his support for Israel and said that they looked forward to his address.

“The entire State of Israel is filled with admiration for your leadership, for your friendship, for the fact that you were here for us in our time of trouble, and for the alliance, the eternal alliance between our two states,” Lapid says.

“So thank you very much for being here. And we are all, both sides of the aisle, looking forward to hearing your speech,” he added.

Later, sharing the moment of his handshake with PM Modi in a post on X, Lapid wrote, "Indian Prime Minister Modi, the entire nation of Israel appreciates your leadership, your friendship, your standing with us in difficult times. Thank you for coming here."